[Anatomical and biomechanical aspects of total ankle replacement]

The success of total ankle replacement highly depends on how successfully the physiological kinematics are maintained or reconstructed. Normal kinematics of the ankle joint can be replicated by designing an implant that is as close as possible to the normal bony anatomy, aligning the ankle and balancing the ligaments. Mimicking normal kinematics and kinetics of a healthy ankle joint will consequently decrease damaging joint contact stress forces and stress forces on the surrounding soft tissue, which may cause wear, implant failure, and pain. This article summarizes the anatomical and biomechanical basics that are required in total ankle replacement.