Post-traumatic fixation requires follow up imaging to evaluate for fractured hardware and increased lucency surrounding hardware which suggests motion.
In cases of syndesmotic screw loosening and failure, ensure the ankle mortise remains symmetric.
Ankle arthrodesis is purposeful fusion across joints with fixation hardware performed to treat refractory pain due to severe arthritis.
There is resultant improvement in pain at the expense of loss in mobility.
The two most common procedures are tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis and triple arthrodesis (talocalcaneal, talonavicular, and calcaneocuboid joints).
Total Ankle Arthroplasty is an alternative to ankle arthrodesis for the treatment of end-stage ankle osteoarthritis. This attempts to preserve functional range of motion. Look for lucencies surrounding the hardware that may suggest loosening.