Biomechanical study of autograft anatomic reconstruction in lateral ankle instability

Introduction The purpose of this work is perform a biomechanical comparison of anatomic reconstruction of the anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) with the intact ATFL. Materials and methods We studied 18 fresh cadaveric ankles with intact ATFL. Each specimen was clinically assessed with the anterior drawer (AD) and varus tilt (VT) tests and the angular movement in the three spatial planes (axial, coronal and sagittal) was measured with an arthrometer using a sensor located in the talus. Results Statistically significant differences were found in the axial plane, between the intact ATFL versus the sectioned ATFL for AD test with p = 0.012, and for VT test with p = 0.013. Regarding the coronal plane, we also observed a statistically significant difference for VT test with p = 0.016. In the sagittal plane, there are no statistically significant differences in both maneuvers. No statistically significant differences were found when comparing the biomechanics of anatomic ligament reconstruction versus the intact ATFL. Conclusion Autograft anatomic reconstruction of the ATFL showed biomechanical properties similar to those of the native ATFL, at the zero moment in a cadaveric model.