Does fixation of fibular fractures accompanying distal tibial fractures affect the ankle stability?

This study aimed to evaluate radiologically whether fixing the fibula in the case of combined distal third tibial and fibular fractures resulted in ankle instability.
This retrospective study included 39 patients (23 male and 16 female) with combined distal tibial and fibular fractures. All fractures were treated with plate versus intramedullary nail without fibular fixation.The radiologic images of patients were reviewed, and the radiologic ankle stability was assessed. For radiologic ankle stability, medial distance, overlap distance of the tibia and fibula, and also tibiofibular gap distance during the ankle x-ray examination were measured. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score was used for the clinical evaluation.
The mean age of patients was 41 (17–68) years. The fracture type according to the AO/OTA classification was detected as 42A1 in 18 patients, 42A2 in 12 patients, and 42A3 in 9 patients. None of the patients had radiological instability. The mean AOFAS score was 89.4 (60–100).
Fixing the fibular fracture in combined distal tibialand fibular fractures did not cause ankle instability radiologically regardless of the fixation method.