Peroneal subluxation: surgical results in 31 athletic patients

Few studies describe the results of surgical treatment of peroneal retinaculum in athletic populations. Thirty-one athletic patients with symptomatic subluxating peroneal tendons were treated surgically by one surgeon with isolated subluxation repair, subluxation repair plus peroneus brevis tendon repair, or subluxation repair plus lateral ankle stabilization. As a group, the average time to return to activity was 3.2 +/- 0.8 months with a postoperative AOFAS score of 97.0 +/- 5.3. Patients with tendon tears were older in age (P < .01) and took longer to return to activity than the rest of the cohort (P = .02). There were a total of 4 patients with postoperative complications, although all were able to return to sports. The patients with peroneal subluxation in this study were able to return to their sport in approximately 3 months. Those with concomitant tendon tears took longer. Further study is needed to see if this is associated with longer-standing symptoms.