Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis of anterior talofibular ligament in lateral chronic ankle instability ankles pre- and postoperatively

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Research Article

Yinghui Hua¹  Hong Li¹  Wei Liu² 

[1] Department of Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, No 12, Wulumuqi Zhong Road, 200040, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China;Department of Sports Medicine, Huashan Hospital, No 12, Wulumuqi Zhong Road, 200040, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China;Department of Orthopedics, Taihe Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tuanjie Xi Road No.59, 236607, Anhui, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: Ankle;    Atfl;    Instability;    Repair;    MRI;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12891-017-1758-z

 received in 2017-05-19, accepted in 2017-09-07,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate and characterize the dimension and signal intensity of anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) using 3.0 T MRI in the mechanical ankle instability group pre- and postoperatively.MethodsA total of 97 participants were recruited retrospectively in this study, including 56 with mechanical chronic ankle instability (CAI group) and 41 without ankle instability (Control group). All the subjects accepted MRI preoperatively. Among the 56 CAI patients, 25 patients, who accepted modified Broström repair of ATFL, underwent a MRI scan at follow-up. The ATFL dimension (length and width) and signal/noise ratio (SNR) were measured based on MRI images. The results of the MRI studies were then compared between groups.ResultsThe CAI group had a significantly higher ATFL length (p = 0.03) or ATFL width (p < 0.001) compared with the control group. The mean SNR value of the CAI group was significantly higher than that of the control group (p = 0.006). Furthermore, the mean SNR value of the ATFL after repair surgery (8.4 ± 2.4) was significantly lower than that of the ATFL before surgery (11.2 ± 3.4) (p < 0.001). However, no significant change of ATFL length or ATFL width were observed after repair surgery.ConclusionsCAI ankles had a higher ATFL length or width as well as higher signal intensity compared with stable ankles. After repair surgery, the mean SNR value of the ATFL decreased, indicating the relaxed ATFL becomes tight postoperatively.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017