Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2025
A Minimally Invasive Model to Analyze Endochondral Fracture Healing in Mice Under Standardized Biomechanical Conditions
Published on: March 22, 2018
Comparison between Suture-Button Technique with Syndesmotic Repair and Screw Fixation Technique for Complete Ankle
Hong Seop Lee1, Sung Hwan Kim2, Ki Won Young3
1Orthopedic Surgery Clinic, Seoul, Korea.
Background:
The tibiofibular syndesmosis is essential for preserving the stability of the ankle. Acute syndesmotic injuries with evident or latent instability usually warrant surgical interventions. This cadaveric study examines and compares biomechanical characteristics between the following treatments for syndesmosis injuries: suture-button fixation plus syndesmotic repair and screw fixation.
Methods:
The lower extremities of 10 cadavers disarticulated at the knee joints were used, yielding 20 feet. Ten feet underwent surgery using the suture-button fixation with syndesmotic repair, while the remaining 10 feet underwent surgery using screw fixation. Before surgical treatment of syndesmosis injuries, each cadaveric lower limb underwent preliminary physiological cyclic loading, which was followed by a series of postfixation cyclic loading tests after the surgical procedure.
Results:
Our principal finding is that suture-button fixation with syndesmotic repair provided torsional strength comparable to that of screw fixation. The mean failure torque did not differ between the 2 groups, but the rotational stiffness was significantly lower in the suture-button fixation/augmentation group.
Conclusions:
Suture-button fixation/augmentation facilitates flexible (physiological) syndesmosis movement and may be a useful alternative treatment for ankle syndesmosis injury.
