Clinical Guidelines for the Surgical Management of Chronic Lateral Ankle Instability: A Consensus Reached by Systematic Review of the Available Data

Background: The surgical management of chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI) has evolved since the 1930s, but for the past 50 years, the modified Brostrom technique of ligament repair has been the gold standard. However, with the development of arthroscopic techniques, significant variation remains regarding when and how CLAI is treated operatively, which graft is the optimal choice, and which other controversial factors should be considered. Purpose: To develop clinical guidelines on the surgical treatment of CLAI and provide standardized guidelines for indications, surgical techniques, rehabilitation strategies, and assessment measures for patients with CLAI. Study Design: A consensus statement of the Chinese Society of Sports Medicine. Methods: A total of 14 physicians were queried for their input on guidelines for the surgical management of CLAI. After 9 clinical topics were proposed, a comprehensive systematic search of the literature published since 1980 was performed for each topic through use of China Biology Medicine (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library. The recommendations and statements were drafted, discussed, and finalized by all authors. The recommendations were graded as grade 1 (strong) or 2 (weak) based on the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) concept. Based on the input from 28 external specialists independent from the authors, the clinical guidelines were modified and finalized. Results: A total of 9 topics were covered with regard to the following clinical areas: surgical indications, surgical techniques, whether to address intra-articular lesions, rehabilitation strategies, and assessments. Among the 9 topics, 6 recommendations were rated as strong and 3 recommendations were rated as weak. Each topic included a statement about how the recommendation was graded. Conclusion: This guideline provides recommendations for the surgical management of CLAI based on the evidence. We believe that this guideline will provide a useful tool for physicians in the decision-making process for the surgical treatment of patients with CLAI.