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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 36/4/793    most recent 0363546507312162v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Van Seymortier, P. Articles by Verdonk, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Van Seymortier, P. Articles by Verdonk, R. Related Collections Dislocations Knee

Traumatic Proximal Tibiofibular Dislocation

Peter Van Seymortier, MD^,*, Alexander Ryckaert, MD, Peter Verdonk, MD, PhD, Karl Fredrik Almqvist, MD, PhD and Rene Verdonk, MD, PhD

From the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Pelleberg University Hospital, Leuven University, Leuven, Belgium

^* Address correspondence to Peter Van Seymortier, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, Poli-5, De Pintelaan 185, B9000 Gent, Belgium (e-mail: peter-vanseymortier{at}hotmail.com).

Traumatic proximal tibiofibular dislocation is a rare injury that is often unrecognized or misdiagnosed at the initial presentation because of a lack of clinical suspicion. When diagnosed, the injury should be promptly reduced. Missed injuries or late presentations are a potential source of chronic morbidity. This article describes the relevant anatomy, classifications, and diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The authors stress the importance of evaluating the distal syndesmotic ligaments and the interosseous membrane because the mechanism of trauma can also cause a disruption of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis. In the presence of syndesmotic instability, prompt stabilization is advocated. Whether syndesmotic stabilization is indicated in cases of a syndesmotic sprain is controversial. An illustrative case is also presented of a 28-year-old male soccer player who sustained a proximal tibiofibular dislocation after a violent twisting motion of the right knee.

Key Words: knee • proximal tibiofibular joint dislocation • lateral knee pain • distal tibiofibular syndesmosis • treatment