Secondary surgical repair of ankle ligaments is often indicated in cases of chronic lateral ankle instability. Recently, arthroscopic Broström techniques have been described, but biomechanical information is limited. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the biomechanical properties of an arthroscopic Broström repair and augmented repair with a proximally placed suture anchor. It was hypothesized that the arthroscopic Broström repairs would compare favorably to open techniques and that augmentation would increase the mean repair strength at time zero. This study found repair augmentation did not confer a significantly higher mean strength or stiffness at time zero.

Biomechanical Analysis of an Arthroscopic Broström Ankle Ligament Repair and a Suture Anchor-Augmented Repair