Ankle Replacements –Growing Stepchild of Hips & Knees (Orthopedics This Week)
Although the basic technology for ankle replacements was developed about 30 years ago, widespread acceptance did not take off—as it did for hips and knees—in part because the ankle technology was not yet satisfactory. In the 1970s, “everybody gave up on them,” said James Bodsky, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon in Dallas and a clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He is quoted October 17 by Ellyn Couvillion of the Baton Rouge Advocate.
That situation has now changed and Brodsky finds ankle replacement to be “a very exciting area. It does a huge amount of good.” The ankle joint holds different challenges for surgeons than do the hip or knee surgeries, which may account for the longer timeline in the development of successful ankle prostheses and related technology.
“The ankle joint is a very unforgiving joint; there are basically bones on three sides of it,” said Steven Haddad, M.D. a spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and an orthopedic surgeon in Wilmette, Illinois, who specializes in foot and ankle issues. “The ankle bon...
