Ankle Arthroscopic Surgery

Ankle arthroscopy is a diagnostic and therapeutic surgical procedure which was first attempted on cadavers by Dr Burman in 1931 and first successfully described in patients by Dr Takagi in 1939. Two general approaches to ankle arthroscopy currently exist: (1) anterior ankle arthroscopy and (2) posterior ankle arthroscopy. The indications for ankle arthroscopy have expanded as increased experience has been obtained treating various pathologic entities and as the surgical results have been reported in the literature. There has been significant progress in ankle arthroscopic surgery over the past decades, notably allowing surgical procedures to be performed with fewer complications and with quicker return to work and play. We anticipate that expanding indications for arthroscopic ankle surgical procedures combined with further development of biomedical devices to enhance these procedures will result in improved patient outcomes in the future.