A comparative study of postoperative clinical outcomes of lateral ankle ligament repair for early-stage ankle osteoarthritis in middle-aged and elderly patients.

Although lateral ankle ligament repair has demonstrated favorable postoperative outcomes, few studies have focused on elderly patients. The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative clinical outcomes of lateral ankle ligament repair in middle-aged and elderly patients with early-stage ankle osteoarthritis (OA). This study was a retrospective analysis of 99 patients aged 40 years or older with chronic lateral ankle instability (LAI) associated with ankle OA who were followed up for at least 12 months after surgery. The patients were divided into two groups: 60 patients in the middle-aged group (40-64 years) and 39 patients in the elderly group (≥65 years), all of whom underwent lateral ankle ligament repair. The recovery time to preoperative walking levels and the Self-Administered Foot Evaluation Questionnaire (SAFE-Q) scores preoperatively and postoperatively were investigated and compared between the two groups. Compared with the preoperative scores, SAFE-Q scores improved significantly across all items in both groups at 12 months post-surgery. There was no difference in pain or pain-related scores between the two groups up to 12 months post-surgery. Furthermore, all patients recovered to their preoperative walking levels or above. However, the elderly group took significantly longer to recover after surgery than the middle-aged group did. Lateral ankle ligament repair yields favorable clinical outcomes even in elderly patients. However, elderly patients took significantly longer to recover walking levels after surgery than middle-aged patients. Therefore, preoperative patient education and postoperative rehabilitation protocols may need to be adjusted accordingly.