Evaluation

How will my fracture be evaluated?

First aid for a victim of an ankle fracture consists of keeping the patient warm, splinting the ankle and transporting him/her to hospital. Sometimes it is necessary to straighten the ankle or remove footwear. However in many circumstances the footwear helps the splinting.

In the Emergency Department the first priority will be to assess the victim for other injuries, for shock, and for general medical problems. The splint and footwear will be removed and the whole limb examined for wounds, swelling, tenderness, and deformity. Even though the injury may obviously be on the outer side of the ankle, the inner side will also be carefully examined for tenderness because both sides of the ankle ring are often injured. An x-ray of the ankle is taken. In most cases this is enough to make the diagnosis and help prepare the surgical plan. In more complicated fractures, especially the Pilon fracture, a CT scan may be used to make the anatomy of the fracture clearer.

The orthopaedic surgeon's evaluation usually comes after a fracture has been diagnosed. The surgeon will be focused on making sure the anatomy of the fracture is fully understood and then making a plan for treatment. This evaluation takes into account the injury, the patient's health status, their normal level of function, and their expectations for recovery.