Foot and Ankle Surgery

 

Fractured Ankle

A fractured ankle can range from a simple break in one bone, which may not stop you from walking, to several fractures, which forces your ankle out of place and may require that you not put weight on it for three months.

• "Twisting" or rotating your ankle
• "Rolled" your ankle
• Tripping or falling
• Impact during a car accident

Since there is such a wide range of injuries, there is also a wide range of how people heal after their injury.

Broken ankles affect all ages. Ankle fractures occur in 184 per 100,000 persons per year. During the past 30 to 40 years, doctors have noted an increase in the number and severity of broken ankles, due in part to an active, older population of "baby boomers." In 2003, nearly 1.2 million people visited emergency rooms because of ankle problems.

 

Nonsurgical Treatment

 

If the fracture is not out of place or just barely out of place and the ankle is stable, you may not need surgery. Some physicians let patients put weight on their leg right away, while others have them wait for 6 weeks.

Several different methods are used for protecting the fracture, ranging from a high-top tennis shoe to a short leg cast. Treatment may also be based on where the bone is broken.

 

A "stress" X-ray may be done to see if the ankle is stable. You will have to see your physician regularly to repeat your ankle X-rays to make sure the fragments of your fracture have not moved out of alignment during the healing process.

 

Surgical Treatment

 

If the fracture is out of place or your ankle is unstable, your fracture may be treated with surgery. To make your ankle stable, a plate and screws on the side of the bone or a screw or rod inside the bone may be used to re-align the bone fragments and keep them together as they heal.

 

Nearly one-fourth of all the bones in your body are in your feet, which provide you with both support and movement. A broken (fractured) bone in your forefoot (metatarsals) or in one of your toes (phalanges) is often painful but rarely disabling. Most of the time, these injuries heal without operative treatment.

 

Stress fractures frequently occur in the bones of the forefoot that extend from your toes to the middle of your foot. Stress fractures are like tiny cracks in the bone surface. They can occur with sudden increases in training (such as running or walking for longer distances or times), improper training techniques or changes in training surfaces. Most other types of fractures extend through the bone. They may be stable (no shift in bone alignment) or displaced (bone ends no longer line up). These fractures usually result from trauma, such as dropping a heavy object on your foot, or from a twisting injury. If the fractured bone does not break through the skin, it is called a closed fracture.

 

Several types of fractures occur to the forefoot bone on the side of the little toe (fifth metatarsal). Ballet dancers may break this bone during a misstep or fall from a point position. An ankle-twisting injury may tear the tendon that attaches to this bone and pull a small piece of the bone away. A more serious injury in the same area is a Jones fracture, which occurs near the base of the bone and disrupting the blood supply to the bone. This injury may take longer to heal or require surgery.

 

See a doctor as soon as possible if you think that you have a broken bone in your foot or toe. Until your appointment, keep weight off the leg and apply ice to reduce swelling. Use an ice pack or wrap the ice in a towel so it does not come into direct contact with the skin. Apply the ice for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Take an analgesic such as aspirin or ibuprofen to help relieve the pain. Wear a wider shoe with a stiff sole.