Elastic Reconstruction of Chronic Instability of the Distal Tibiofibular Joint in an Obese Patient: A Case Report

An active, obese young patient was admitted to our clinic complaining of chronic ankle pain after fixation of his lateral malleolus fracture. His symptoms consisted of intermittent pain after prolonged walking, swelling, and feeling of instability. His clinical and radiological evaluations indicated chronic mechanical instability of his distal tibiofibular syndesmosis that remained unresponsive to conservative treatment. Considering his age and activity level, we proceeded to a global syndesmotic reconstruction of the three major syndesmotic ligaments with split-thickness peroneus longus graft. According to this technique, the graft was passed through specific tibiofibular tunnels restoring the native stability and elasticity of the region. The patient had an optimal postoperative function, with diminished symptoms and increased clinical scores. His late radiological evaluation revealed an anatomic ankle reduction with restoring his normal syndesmotic anatomy compared to his contralateral limb. Regardless of his high BMI, we noticed no further subluxation of his talus, while his general symptomatology was unremarkable at the 12-month follow-up. In conclusion, elastic reconstruction of the distal tibiofibular joint with split-thickness peroneus longus graft provides excellent results at 12 months regardless of the patient’s BMI. To our knowledge, this is the only technique that restores the three main regional ligaments, simultaneously allowing for close-to-normal biomechanics and providing excellent short-term clinical outcomes.