Abstract
Purpose
To analyze the current randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of dynamic fixations (DFs) and static fixations (SFs) in treating distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injuries (DTSIs).
Methods
The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and EMBASE were systematically searched according to the PRISMA guidelines to identify RCTs comparing the DFs and SFs for DTSIs. Included studies were assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Postoperative functional scores, range of motion (ROM), complication rate, and incidence of reoperation were statistically analyzed using review manager software, and a p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Five RCTs with a total of 282 patients were included. Analysis revealed statistically significant differences in favor of DFs with regard to American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle–Hindfoot score at a follow-up less than 6 months (MD 5.29; 95% CI 0.99–9.59; p = 0.02; I2 = 0%) and at a follow-up more than 2 years (MD 7.53; 95% CI 3.30–11.76; p = 0.0005; I2 = 0%), Olerud–Molander ankle (OMA) score at 1 year follow-up (MD 4.62; 95% CI 0.91–8.32; p = 0.01; I2 = 14%), and overall postoperative complication rate (RR 0.22; 95% CI 0.07–0.77; p = 0.02; I2 = 73%). There was no significant difference between the DFs and SFs regarding ROM and incidence of reoperation.
Conclusions
The DF procedure leads to significantly improved functional scores as well as lower rate of overall postoperative complications when compared with SF procedure. On the basis of results of this meta-analysis, the DF should be recommended for managing the DTSI.
Level of evidence
I.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen MR, Frihagen F, Hellund JC, Madsen JE, Figved W (2018) Randomized trial comparing suture button with single syndesmotic screw for syndesmosis injury. J Bone Joint Surg Am 100:2–12
Bartonicek J (2003) Anatomy of the tibiofibular syndesmosis and its clinical relevance. Surg Radiol Anat 25:379–386
Bell DP, Wong MK (2006) Syndesmotic screw fixation in Weber C ankle injuries—should the screw be removed before weight bearing? Injury 37:891–898
Brosky T, Nyland J, Nitz A, Caborn DN (1995) The ankle ligaments: consideration of syndesmotic injury and implications for rehabilitation. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 21:197–205
Chen B, Chen C, Yang Z, Huang P, Dong H, Zeng Z (2019) To compare the efficacy between fixation with tightrope and screw in the treatment of syndesmotic injuries: a meta-analysis. Foot Ankle Surg 25:63–70
Coetzee J, Ebeling P (2009) Treatment of syndesmoses disruptions: a prospective, randomized study comparing conventional screw fixation vs TightRope®fiber wire fixation—medium term results. SA Orthop J 8:32–37
Colcuc C, Blank M, Stein T, Raimann F, Weber-Spickschen S, Fischer S et al (2018) Lower complication rate and faster return to sports in patients with acute syndesmotic rupture treated with a new knotless suture button device. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 26:3156–3164
Conner-Spady B, Suarez-Almazor ME (2003) Variation in the estimation of quality-adjusted life-years by different preference-based instruments. Med Care 41:791–801
Cottom JM, Hyer CF, Philbin TM, Berlet GC (2009) Transosseous fixation of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis: comparison of an interosseous suture and endobutton to traditional screw fixation in 50 cases. J Foot Ankle Surg 48:620–630
Dattani R, Patnaik S, Kantak A, Srikanth B, Selvan TP (2008) Injuries to the tibiofibular syndesmosis. J Bone Joint Surg Br 90:405–410
Hays RD, Morales LS (2001) The RAND-36 measure of health-related quality of life. Ann Med 33:350–357
Higgins JP, Altman DG, Gotzsche PC, Juni P, Moher D, Oxman AD et al (2011) The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. BMJ 343:d5928
Higgins JPT, Deeks JJ (2011) Selecting studies and collecting data. In: Higgins JPT, Green S (eds) Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions, Version 5.1.0. The Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, pp 154–181
Inge SY, Pull Ter Gunne AF, Aarts CAM, Bemelman M (2016) A systematic review on dynamic versus static distal tibiofibular fixation. Injury 47:2627–2634
Kellett JJ (2011) The clinical features of ankle syndesmosis injuries: a general review. Clin J Sport Med 21:524–529
Kim JH, Gwak HC, Lee CR, Choo HJ, Kim JG, Kim DY (2016) A comparison of screw fixation and suture-button fixation in a syndesmosis injury in an ankle fracture. J Foot Ankle Surg 55:985–990
Kitaoka HB, Alexander IJ, Adelaar RS, Nunley JA, Myerson MS, Sanders M (1994) Clinical rating systems for the ankle-hindfoot, midfoot, hallux, and lesser toes. Foot Ankle Int 15:349–353
Kocadal O, Yucel M, Pepe M, Aksahin E, Aktekin CN (2016) Evaluation of reduction accuracy of suture-button and screw fixation techniques for syndesmotic injuries. Foot Ankle Int 37:1317–1325
Kortekangas T, Savola O, Flinkkila T, Lepojarvi S, Nortunen S, Ohtonen P et al (2015) A prospective randomised study comparing TightRope and syndesmotic screw fixation for accuracy and maintenance of syndesmotic reduction assessed with bilateral computed tomography. Injury 46:1119–1126
Kuz'menko VV, Bondarenko VP (1983) Diagnosis and treatment of injuries of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis. Vestn Khir Im I I Grek 130:139–143
Laflamme M, Belzile EL, Bedard L, van den Bekerom MP, Glazebrook M, Pelet S (2015) A prospective randomized multicenter trial comparing clinical outcomes of patients treated surgically with a static or dynamic implant for acute ankle syndesmosis rupture. J Orthop Trauma 29:216–223
Latham AJ, Goodwin PC, Stirling B, Budgen A (2017) Ankle syndesmosis repair and rehabilitation in professional rugby league players: a case series report. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med 3:e000175
Lin CF, Gross ML, Weinhold P (2006) Ankle syndesmosis injuries: anatomy, biomechanics, mechanism of injury, and clinical guidelines for diagnosis and intervention. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 36:372–384
Magan A, Golano P, Maffulli N, Khanduja V (2014) Evaluation and management of injuries of the tibiofibular syndesmosis. Br Med Bull 111:101–115
Manjoo A, Sanders DW, Tieszer C, MacLeod MD (2010) Functional and radiographic results of patients with syndesmotic screw fixation: implications for screw removal. J Orthop Trauma 24:2–6
Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, Group P (2010) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Int J Surg 8:336–341
Naqvi GA, Cunningham P, Lynch B, Galvin R, Awan N (2012) Fixation of ankle syndesmotic injuries: comparison of tightrope fixation and syndesmotic screw fixation for accuracy of syndesmotic reduction. Am J Sports Med 40:2828–2835
Olerud C, Molander H (1984) A scoring scale for symptom evaluation after ankle fracture. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 103:190–194
Pakarinen HJ, Flinkkila TE, Ohtonen PP, Hyvonen PH, Lakovaara MT, Leppilahti JI et al (2011) Syndesmotic fixation in supination-external rotation ankle fractures: a prospective randomized study. Foot Ankle Int 32:1103–1109
Peek AC, Fitzgerald CE, Charalambides C (2014) Syndesmosis screws: how many, what diameter, where and should they be removed? A literature review. Injury 45:1262–1267
Peterson KS, Chapman WD, Hyer CF, Berlet GC (2015) Maintenance of reduction with suture button fixation devices for ankle syndesmosis repair. Foot Ankle Int 36:679–684
Rabin R, de Charro F (2001) EQ-5D: a measure of health status from the EuroQol Group. Ann Med 33:337–343
Rammelt S, Obruba P (2015) An update on the evaluation and treatment of syndesmotic injuries. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 41:601–614
Rammelt S, Zwipp H, Grass R (2008) Injuries to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis: an evidence-based approach to acute and chronic lesions. Foot Ankle Clin 13:611–633 (vii–viii)
Schepers T (2011) To retain or remove the syndesmotic screw: a review of literature. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 131:879–883
Schepers T, Van Lieshout EM, de Vries MR, Van der Elst M (2011) Complications of syndesmotic screw removal. Foot Ankle Int 32:1040–1044
Schepers T, Van Lieshout EM, Van der Linden HJ, De Jong VM, Goslings JC (2013) Aftercare following syndesmotic screw placement: a systematic review. J Foot Ankle Surg 52:491–494
Schnetzke M, Vetter SY, Beisemann N, Swartman B, Grutzner PA, Franke J (2016) Management of syndesmotic injuries: what is the evidence? World J Orthop 7:718–725
Seyhan M, Donmez F, Mahirogullari M, Cakmak S, Mutlu S, Guler O (2015) Comparison of screw fixation with elastic fixation methods in the treatment of syndesmosis injuries in ankle fractures. Injury 46(Suppl 2):S19–23
Thornes B, Shannon F, Guiney AM, Hession P, Masterson E (2005) Suture-button syndesmosis fixation: accelerated rehabilitation and improved outcomes. Clin Orthop Relat Res 431:207–212
van den Bekerom MP, Hogervorst M, Bolhuis HW, van Dijk CN (2008) Operative aspects of the syndesmotic screw: review of current concepts. Injury 39:491–498
van den Bekerom MP, Kerkhoffs GM, McCollum GA, Calder JD, van Dijk CN (2013) Management of acute lateral ankle ligament injury in the athlete. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 21:1390–1395
van den Bekerom MP, Kloen P, Luitse JS, Raaymakers EL (2013) Complications of distal tibiofibular syndesmotic screw stabilization: analysis of 236 patients. J Foot Ankle Surg 52:456–459
Van Heest TJ, Lafferty PM (2014) Injuries to the ankle syndesmosis. J Bone Joint Surg Am 96:603–613
Weening B, Bhandari M (2005) Predictors of functional outcome following transsyndesmotic screw fixation of ankle fractures. J Orthop Trauma 19:102–108
Xu G, Chen W, Zhang Q, Wang J, Su Y, Zhang Y (2013) Flexible fixation of syndesmotic diastasis using the assembled bolt-tightrope system. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med 21:71
Zhang P, Liang Y, He J, Fang Y, Chen P, Wang J (2017) A systematic review of suture-button versus syndesmotic screw in the treatment of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 18:286
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Professor Kang Zheng, Department of Orthopaedics, Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, Ningbo City, P.R. China, for his clinical practice recommendations.
Funding
No funding was received in this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors listed meet the authorship criteria according to the latest guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. All authors are in agreement with the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All the authors of this article declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
This manuscript is systematic review and meta-analysis and does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gan, K., Xu, D., Hu, K. et al. Dynamic fixation is superior in terms of clinical outcomes to static fixation in managing distal tibiofibular syndesmosis injury. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 28, 270–280 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-019-05659-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-019-05659-0