Abstract: Background: Ankle fractures are one of the most common fractures presenting in public hospitals. Most of the studies report the short term functional outcome post-ankle fracture surgery. Hence; the present study was undertaken for assessing operative outcome of ankle fractures.
Materials and methods: A total of 40 patients operatively treated for an unstable ankle fracture were entered into a database and prospectively followed. The postoperative protocol was standardized for all patients. Complete demographic and clinical details of all the patients were obtained. Baseline characteristics, complications, additional surgery, functional status and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score (AOFAS) were assessed. The intervention chosen was open reduction and internal fixation of unstable ankle fractures. Functional outcome was evaluated.
Results: Level of pain decreased consistently over the 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up periods in both study groups as measured by the AOFAS questionnaire. At 3 months, 6 months and 12 months follow-up, mean AOFAS score was 75.5, 80.3 and 85.3 respectively.
Conclusion: Patients undergoing operative fixation of unstable ankle fractures showed reasonable functional result at the 1-year follow-up.
