Posterior ankle impingement syndrome in adolescents

Abstract

The goal of the study is to investigate posterior ankle impingement syndrome (PAIS) in the adolescent population and the differ- ences in delay periods for diagnosis. Furthermore, the intention is to present the results for arthroscopic treatment of PAIS in adoles- cents and compare them to the results found in published literature. A total of 16 adolescent patients (≤19 years old) included in the study were operated on solely for PAIS. A search was done on avail- able medical documentation primarily for the causes and length of the PAIS symptoms, and any reported complications. The Amer- ican Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot score was used to evaluate ankle function, while patient satisfac- tion was measured using the Abdelatif questionnaire. The average age of the patients at the time of the procedure was 16.8 years. The median period from the appearance of the first symptoms until the diagnosis was 8.5 months. No perioperative complications were recorded in the median follow-up period of 75 months. An increase in AOFAS score was noted, ranging from an average of 70.9 preoperatively to 97.0 postoperatively. All of the patients were very satisfied with the results of the procedure, emphasizing postoperative improvement in everyday ankle use. This study confirms the presence of a diagnosis delay for PAIS in the adolescent population, which is in line with the results published in the literature. Additionally, it has been shown that arthroscopic surgery is highly efficient for treating PAIS in the adolescent popu- lation.