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Arthroscopy after lateral ankle ligament surgery does not significantly increase complication rate
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BOSTON — According to a presentation at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, arthroscopy after lateral ankle ligament surgery was more expensive but did not significantly increase the overall complication rate compared to surgery without arthroscopy.
Researchers collected information from the PearlDiver Technologies Humana dataset to identify 2,188 patients with records of an ankle sprain or instability either before lateral ankle ligament repair or lateral ankle ligament reconstruction. Patients were grouped based on records of arthroscopic procedures which included repair with arthroscopy (n=219), repair without arthroscopy (n=922), reconstruction with arthroscopy (n=325) and reconstruction without arthroscopy (n=783). Investigators evaluated the cost, complications, newly diagnosed intra-articular defects and reoperations.
Results showed the average cost per patient was higher for both arthroscopy groups (repair with arthroscopy vs. without arthroscopy; $6,207.78 vs. $3,677.11, and reconstruction with arthroscopy vs. without arthroscopy; $5,758.21 vs. $4,601.13). There were more patients with complications who underwent reconstruction without arthroscopy compared with those who underwent reconstruction with arthroscopy; however, the difference was not statistically significant.
There was a significantly greater proportion of patients with newly diagnosed intra-articular defects in both arthroscopy groups (repair with arthroscopy vs. without arthroscopy; 53% vs. 35.6%, and reconstruction with arthroscopy vs. without arthroscopy; 56% vs. 39.8%). Reoperation rate was significantly greater in patients who underwent repair or reconstruction with arthroscopy compared to patients who did not undergo arthroscopy (7.18% vs. 4.91%). Average time to reoperation for intra-articular defects was significantly shorter for patients who underwent repair or reconstruction with arthroscopy compared with those that did not undergo arthroscopy.
Refer ence:
Heenan MG, et al. Abstract 80. Presented at: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting; July 11-14, 2019; Boston.
Disclosure: Heenan reports no relevant financial disclosures.