Treatment of Syndesomsis Disruptions with TightRope fixation

J. Chris Coetzee, FRCSC, MD;  Patrick Ebeling, MD

University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN and Minnesota Sports Medicine & Twin Cities Orthopedics Eden Prairie, MN

Open reduction and screw fixation is the current standard treatment for displaced injuries of the ankle syndesmosis. Despite reduction and stable internal fixation, however, these injuries do not uniformly have excellent outcomes. In addition, screw fixation has potential disadvantages. The objective of this article was to provide an overview of the important anatomical and biomechanical issues relating to syndesmosis injuries and to present the surgical technique and potential advantages of fixation with the TightRope implant(Arthrex Inc, Naples, Fla). The shortterm results of an ongoing prospective, randomized clincial trial are also presented.