Deltoid Rupture in Ankle Fractures: To Repair or Not to Repair?

Abstract

The most common injury mechanism for ankle fractures with concomitant deltoid ligament injury is a supination external rotation type 4 trauma. In the acute setting, malalignment, ecchymosis, and profound edema of the affected ankle can be found. Clinical examination is a poor indicator for deltoid ligament injury. There is a lack of high-quality studies with suturing the deltoid as the primary question. The authors found 4 comparative studies that found it unnecessary to explore and to reconstruct the deltoid ligament and 4 comparative studies that find it unnecessary to explore and to reconstruct the deltoid ligament.