Arthroscopy in Lateral Ankle Ligament Stabilization Surgery: Costs, Complications, Intra-Articular Defect Diagnosis, and Reoperations

• Published in: Foot & ankle orthopaedics 2019-10, Vol.4 (4)
• Main Authors: Heenan, G. Matthew, Parikh, Kisan, Tarakemeh, Armin, Schroeppel, J. Paul, Mullen, Scott, Vopat, Bryan G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ankle; Defects; Knee; Ligaments; Medical diagnosis; Surgery
• ISSN: 2473-0114; 2473-0114
• DOI: 10.1177/2473011419S00206

Category: Ankle, Arthroscopy Introduction/Purpose: Lateral ankle ligament stabilization may be performed with concomitant arthroscopy. Arthroscopy has been shown to aid in the diagnosis of intra-articular defects that often accompany lateral ankle ligament injuries. This study compares the differences in cost, complications, newly diagnosed intra-articular defects, and reoperations among patients with ankle sprain/chronic instability who underwent lateral ankle ligament repair/reconstruction with or without concomitant arthroscopic procedures. Methods: Data was collected from the PearlDiver Technologies Humana dataset using CPT and ICD9/10 codes. Patients included in this study (n=2,428) had records of ankle sprain or ankle instability prior to or on the same day as one of two procedures: lateral ankle ligament repair (n=1,236) or lateral ankle ligament reconstruction (n=1,211). This population was subdivided by whether patients had records of arthroscopic procedure(s) on the same day as the ligament surgery. This yielded four groups: repair with arthroscopy (n=314), repair without arthroscopy (n=922), reconstruction with arthroscopy (n=473), reconstruction without arthroscopy (n=738). Cost, complications, newly diagnosed intra-articular defects, and reoperations were assessed. Results: Cost was higher for arthroscopy groups: repair with arthroscopy ($5,991.32) versus repair without arthroscopy ($3,677.11; p