Does your ankle hurt when you walk or run and do you feel increasingly restricted? The upper ankle joint in particular is susceptible to accelerated wear and tear. The reason: the ankle joint bears the entire weight of the body and does so over a very small area. What's more, every second patient has had an ankle injury at some point in their life. Instability as a result of the injury or an increasing misalignment further increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
The foot and ankle surgery team at the Sportklinik Hellersen has many years of experience in the treatment of foot and ankle diseases and injuries. In order to get patients mobile again, we initially rely on joint-preserving measures. If this is no longer possible, the specialists will decide together with you whether an artificial ankle joint can be implanted.
Ankle joint prosthesis or stiffening?
The prerequisite for the use of an ankle joint prosthesis is that the ligaments are stable, the bone quality is good and residual mobility is retained. If this is not the case, arthrodesis (fusion) is recommended.
The surgical approach for implanting an ankle joint prosthesis is performed on the front of the ankle joint with a longitudinal skin incision. Beforehand, our podiatrists carefully plan the position and size of the prosthesis based on the X-ray images.
Which ankle prosthesis?
The artificial ankle replacement can usually be implanted without cement. This depends on the manufacturer's specifications. The type of prosthesis chosen by us is implanted without cement and offers the option of a replacement ankle prosthesis if it has become loose after years. The "shelf life" of an ankle prosthesis is currently ten years on average.
Stefanie Baudis
Foot and ankle surgery secretariat
- Phone+49 2351 945-2386
- Fax+49 2351 945-2371
- sekretariat.knichel@hellersen.de
