Clinical and Biomechanical Outcomes of Suture Button Fixation for Ligamentous Lisfranc Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

Flexible ligamentous fixation has increased in popularity for the treatment of ligamentous Lisfranc injury, but the optimal fixation strategy is unclear.

PURPOSE

To review the biomechanical, clinical, and radiographic results of ligamentous Lisfranc injuries treated with flexible fixation.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar literature databases were queried for clinical and biomechanical (cadaveric) studies relating to flexible fixation of ligamentous Lisfranc injury. Outcomes of interest included patient-reported outcome scores, clinical/biomechanical results, radiographic alignment, and return to activity. Where appropriate, meta-analysis of the postoperative outcomes was performed.

RESULTS

Of the 34 initial studies, 14 articles (243 feet) were included in the analysis. In the 11 clinical studies (216 patients), the mean postoperative American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society score was 90.1 (n = 150; 6 studies) and the mean visual analog scale score was 1.5 (n = 137; 5 studies). The rate of return to activity was 100% (n = 35; 5 studies), and 100% of patients maintained radiographic alignment postoperatively (n = 62; 6 studies). No complications or subsequent hardware removals were reported. Of the 3 biomechanical studies (27 feet), 1 study found significantly greater change in diastasis under axial load between intact and postfixation ligaments with suture button versus screw fixation (+1.1 vs -0.1 mm; < .05), another found no difference in the decrease in diastasis under axial load between the injured state and screw or suture button fixation (1.2 vs 1.0 mm; = .5), and the third found no difference in displacement between intact and either screw or suture button fixation under either axial (intact vs screw: 1.0 vs 2.0 mm, = .1; intact vs suture button: 0.6 vs 1.8 mm, = .1) or abduction (intact vs screw: 1.5 vs 1.1 mm, = .5; intact vs suture button: 1.3 vs 2.1 mm, = .1) load.

CONCLUSION

Flexible fixation use in the treatment of ligamentous Lisfranc injury was found to have significant potential as a fixation option, as demonstrated by excellent clinical results. Biomechanical evidence was inconclusive but suggested a trend toward decreased diastasis in specimens fixed with screws compared with suture buttons.