The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
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Trans-syndesmotic screws are commonly used to repair syndesmosis ruptures and stabilize the ankle joint. Just as with any surgery, the neurovascular structures can be compromised, causing complications. We evaluated the position of the perforating branch of the peroneal artery to define the risk of arterial compromise during placement of 2 trans-syndesmotic screws. ⋯ A greater percentage of male specimens displayed close proximity between the artery and the superior screw, and the distance of the artery from the distal fibula was statistically significant compared with the distance in the female specimens. Regression analysis revealed that the greater the tibial length, the closer the superior screw was to the artery, with a negative correlation discovered for the inferior screw. We concluded that superior screw placement increased the risk of injuring the perforating branch of the peroneal artery injury, and the likelihood of injuring the artery with the inferior screw increased as the length of the tibia decreased.