Common Ankle Surgeries You Should Know About

Ankle surgery is a common procedure that is performed to treat the pain and swelling of ankle injuries. However, before having ankle surgery in Houston, it is essential to consider all aspects of this procedure to ensure that you are making the right decision. Read on for more important information about what you should know before undergoing ankle surgery.

Causes that lead to ankle surgery

An ankle injury may result from a traumatic impact on the ankle joint, inflammatory conditions, or other acute conditions such as tendinitis. Other than these causes, this condition could also have chronic causes, such as arthritis in the ankle joint area. Ankle surgeries are common among athletes due to the high rate of occurrence of ankle injuries to them.

Common Ankle surgeries

Surgery options for ankle injuries vary depending on the degree of the injury and what your doctor deems is the best procedure. Here are some standard terms you might come across on your visit to the doctor.

1. Ankle arthroscopy

As an alternative to the traditional open method, surgeons now use arthroscopes for performing ankle surgery in Houston. This treatment is used to repair loose bone fragments, damaged cartilage, and torn ligaments. The procedure involves inserting a fiber-optic camera inside your body through a small incision. This high-tech tool transmits real-time images of your ankle joint to a nearby video monitor.

2. Ankle Fracture Repair Surgery

If you break any of the bones comprising your ankle joint, then it’s time to schedule an appointment with a doctor who performs ankle surgery in Houston. Broken bone fragments in this area can be extremely painful for patients, but luckily there are some treatments that will help. Surgery is one option where doctors use metal plates and screws to hold broken pieces together so they won’t move around or heal improperly.

3. Ankle replacement

Another type of ankle surgery is ankle replacement, where the surgeon detaches the damaged ends of your ankle bone and joins it with a prosthetic ankle. Most of the candidates who are prone to this surgery have an advanced level of arthritis. These individuals are considered healthy otherwise but are advised to stay away from high-impact activities like athletics.

4. Ankle fusion

Ankle fusion is a surgical procedure that involves the joining of two or more bones in the ankle. In this procedure, a bone graft is inserted, and then the joint surfaces are fixed by using screws. The grafted bone grows into the surrounding bone tissues, eventually forming one solid bone and completing ankle fusion surgery.

5. Lateral Ankle Ligament Reconstruction

Lateral ankle ligament reconstruction, which is also known as Brostrom procedure, is a surgical procedure performed to treat ankle injury and stabilize the movement of the ankle. During this surgery, the specialist will tighten all the loose or weak ligaments down your ankle.
We hope this post helped! Ankle surgery can be done as a single procedure or two separate procedures. If you are considering ankle surgery, please consult your doctor to get the best care.