Evaluating the potential advantages offered by primary fusion in patients with complicated diabetes mellitus presenting with an ankle fracture: A case report

Abstract

Ankle fractures make up nine percent of all adult fractures and over 260,000 ankle fractures are diagnosed annually in the United States. These injuries range from low-energy rotational injuries to severe fractures with significant dislocations with soft tissue compromise. Approximately 25 percent of all ankle fractures are treated with surgical intervention. Approximately, one eighth of these fractures occur in diabetic patients, a number which continues to increase as the prevalence of diabetes increases. This case report delves into the surgical management of an acute ankle fracture in a 54-year-old female with multiple medical comorbidities including diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy, PVD, ESRD, status-post kidney transplant on dialysis, history of DVT on warfarin. Patient was definitively managed with an ankle and subtalar joint fusion, which has been shown to be an effective treatment option for diabetic patients with an acute ankle fracture.