Suture button versus syndesmotic screw fixation in acute ankle fractures with syndesmotic injury: An umbrella review of functional outcomes and clinical relevance based on the minimal clinically important difference.

Abstract

Literature increasingly suggests that suture button (SB) fixation yields higher functional outcome scores, specifically the American Orthopaedic Foot Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot score and the Olerud-Molander Ankle Score (OMAS), compared with syndesmotic screws (SS). This umbrella review evaluates whether these differences extend beyond statistical significance and meet thresholds for clinical relevance, using the Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) as reference standard. A comprehensive PubMed search identified systematic reviews and meta-analyses published between 2010 and 2025. The methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist. Reported AOFAS and OMAS outcomes, as well as mean differences between SB and SS fixation, were extracted or independently calculated. These values were evaluated against established MCID ranges (OMAS 7.5-11.4, AOFAS 4.1-7.8), to determine whether statistically significant findings corresponded to clinically meaningful improvements RESULTS: Nineteen systematic reviews were included, of which fifteen performed a meta-analysis. Across these reviews, SB fixation was reported 18 times to result in statistically higher AOFAS and/or OMAS compared with SS fixation. However, most weighted mean differences fell below the MCID thresholds: in 11 reviews for OMAS and in 12 reviews for the AOFAS did not reach clinical relevance. Only one review reported an OMAS difference within the MCID range, and seven reviews reported AOFAS differences within or above the MCID range. These findings indicate that, although statistically significant results were observed, the corresponding functional gains were generally too small to be clinically meaningful. While SB fixation often demonstrates superior functional scores relative to SS fixation, these differences seldom exceed established MCID thresholds. The clinical relevance of these improvements therefore remains uncertain. As routine removal of syndesmotic screws is no longer advocated in the contemporary literature, and considering the findings of the present study, one could argue that the cost-effectiveness of using a suture-button in under scrutiny. Future studies should focus on refining MCID values for ankle-specific PROMs and improving methodological rigour in systematic reviews and meta-analyses to better determine whether SB fixation provides a meaningful advantage for patients.