Background:

Ankle fractures are one of the most frequent lesions of the musculoskeletal system; there are studies that report an increase in the incidence of these fractures starting in the 1970s, associated with the increased media outreach of sporting activities. Supra- and transyndesmal fractures often lead to injury of the syndesmosis, which, if not treated properly, will leave joint instability. The most common treatment is the placement of a transyndesmal screw; there is controversy on the height in which it should be located with regard to the distal tibial joint line.

Material and method:

A descriptive, observational, retrospective and transversal study with clinical and radiographic records of patients operated on bimalleolar fractures; they were divided into two groups: those with the transyndesmal screw at 2 or 2.5 cm and those with the screw at 3.5 cm or more proximal. There was a total of 34 cases (group A: 16 patients; group B: 18), 22 male and 12 female, aged between 19 and 45 years.

Results:

We applied the Olerud-Molander ankle score for the clinical evaluation and measured the radiographic medial space of the ankle to consider the degree of reduction. The results in both groups were compared.

Discussion:

The location of the screw at 2.0 cm presented a percentage of 75% of joint stability and 25% of joint instability, the joint functionality was relatively smaller in comparison to the placement of the screw at 3.5 cm, with which we achieved a joint stability of 83.3% and 16.3% of joint instability.