Maisonneuve Fracture Treatment | Maisonneuve Bone Fracture Surgery

Overview on Maisonneuve Fracture

If the ankle is hurt during an accident, there is a possibility that an ankle fracture injury is involved. When the fibula is broken and the smaller bone on the lower leg is also affected, a Maisonneuve fracture happens. The bone fracture happens precisely on the external side of the lower leg, closer to the knee end of the bone. This is named after the French surgeon, Jules Germaine Francois Maisonneuve, who described it first. When this Maisonneuve injury happens, this is usually associated with a severe ankle fracture called the syndesmosis injury. This happens when the connective tissues and the ligament are damaged by a tearing mechanism.

Athletes, who usually create strong impact force that hits their feet while practicing with the lower leg rotating around the firmly planted feet on the ground, are the usual victims of this Maisonneuve ankle fracture. Proximal fibular fracture, yet one of the types of ankle fracture, happens when the force that created the injury also affects the connective tissues or the interosseus membrane, pushes itself to the leg, and finishes on top of the bone. Another associated fracture of ankle would be a fracture of the tibia that is located near the ankle. However, further fracture diagnosis needs to be done to make sure that this fracture has really occurred.

Among all the types of fracture on the bones, this Maisonneuve fracture ankle is the most unstable. During diagnosis, a radiographer who is not so keen on spotting fractures would likely miss this one. Its unstable status is due to the fact that the Maisonneuve bone fracture also disrupts the interosseus membrane found on the ankle joint up to the fibula fracture and syndesmotic ligaments.

A patient with Maisonneuve type fracture should not only be keen on knowing what kind of treatment is necessary to address this bone problem. One should also know the other things surrounding the problem of the broken ankle so that every action that is done will be for the improvement of the fracture and not for making it worse. The Maisonneuve fracture treatment would be an important knowledge but so are other facts about ankle fracture. This fracture is usually compared to Monteggia fracture and Galeazzi fracture. Because this happens in athletes, this can also be similar to navicular stress fracture on the foot. Athletes who spend long hours stressing their feet out can have navicular fracture if they do not know how to watch over their feet. Too much practice can result to immobility for weeks or months. An occult fracture ankle is also dangerous because even with the use of x-ray the fracture is still not spotted right after the injury. An unaware patient would continue to use the fractured ankle which will make matters worse. More fracture complications can be expected.

Symptoms

There are some fracture symptoms that will signal the patient and the people around him that something is really wrong. Like many other types of fractures in any other parts of the boy, pain is an ever present and haunting symptom in Maisonneuve fractures. When you experience chronic ankle pain and the area feels painful to touch or move, there is surely something wrong with it. Moreover, an ankle sprain, an associated complication with fracture of ankle, can make the pain even worse. Immobility on the injured ankle should be maintained. This is already a big help in making sure that the fracture healing time would not be too long for the patient to bear. Some fractures would take as long as three months or even more to completely recover. This recovery time will even be longer for those patients who do not know the right thing to do regarding the treatment. Another symptom would be the difficulty of moving the foot when the patient needs to put his weight on the broken Maisonneuve bones. If tenderness is felt on the part surrounding the fibula bone, this can further confirm suspicions of Maisonneuve fracture. The tenderness usually occurs from the ankle to the area below the knee. Inflammation, reddening or bruising of the area are other symptoms. All these signs of fracture make the Maisonneuve injury all the more unstable.

Causes

The usual causes of this fractured Maisonneuve bone are instances when the foot lands on the ground in an awkward position and the leg moves in a manner that seems to wrap around the landing foot. This will strain the ankle and cause the fibula to crack. In other cases, the tibia, which is a bone on the foot situated much lower than the fibula, will also get fractured. This is when the force is too strong to be contained by the fibula that it would travel to the legs and into the tibia. No wonder athletes who capitalize on their feet during long hours of practice would have this kind of fracture. When the sports event involves a high risk of falling, a lot of leg dependency, and a moving surface, the athletes doing this are more prone to Maisonneuve fracture. These sports events include cycling, skiing, gymnastics, dancing, and the like. However, the high risk of falling is a factor that is present in most types of sports. Another easy way for a person to have this classification of ankle fracture is when there is already a history of ankle injury. When this injury was applied with the wrong Maisonneuve treatment, re-injury is likely to happen with the slightest accident on the ankle. For the recovery and rehabilitation to happen as intended, it is best to follow all the orders of the doctors. Being an obedient patient also helps in cutting the Maisonneuve fracture healing time short.

Treatment

Several options are available for Maisonneuve fracture treatment. But before this, the patient should consult a doctor. The more a doctor’s consultation is delayed the more dangerous the facture will become for the patient. A professional should also do the diagnosis and not someone else. Maisonneuve fracture in children should have parents rushing their kids to the doctor. A complicated ankle injury would likely need fracture surgery to solve the problem. This refers to the use of syndesmosis screw to stabilize the injured ankle and to let the ligaments heal. Another way on how to heal this fracture would be to use a below-knee fracture cast. For a complete effort to treat Maisonneuve fracture, the cast should be worn for six weeks and to avoid applying pressure on the foot, crutches should be used. Another solution would be to use partial weight bearing. Pain relieving medicines might be prescribed to help the patient battle the discomfort of the injury.

Rehab

This is necessary after the injured foot has been immobile for a few weeks. This physical therapy would involve certain stretching and strengthening exercises. However, the routines should be done gently. These can help teach the bones and the muscles in the injured area to gain back their ability to move naturally. Anti-inflammatory emedicine is sometimes necessary to get through with recovery for the injured foot. While doing some routines, home care tips should be followed as well. For instance, an ice pack should be applied on the injured foot in order to help reduce pain and swelling. It would likely take a few months for the foot to be completely healed. The healing process is also gradual.

All these things should be known by the patient in order for the injury to heal in time. It would be too dragging and boring on the part of the patient for the recovery process to take up so many months when there are many things that can be done. Knowledge about the fracture would make the patient more aware of what to do and what not to do. This will make the treatment a smoother process for the patient. Recovery might even be fun even for a few months. The ordeal of the patient should also serve as a lesson to take more precaution in the way someone moves in order to avoid injury.