Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine recently reported that the annual incidence of lateral ankle ligament repair (LALR) has been on the rise since 2009, particularly among those over 70 years of age. They queried the IBM Watson Health Market Scan Database for patients who underwent LALR from January 2009 to December 2019 based on CPT code 27698. Volume and incidence per 100,000 population were determined for annual sums, gender, age, and geographical regions based on population estimates from the United States Census Bureau. Future annual volumes were statistically projected with linear regression modeling to the year 2032.
Overall, they identified 160,457 LALR procedures in the database from 2009 to 2019. Annual incidence increased 76.6% from 3.46 to 6.11 cases per 100,000 population, while estimates of annual volumes are projected to increase 61.5% from 19,829 to 32,033 procedures in the year 2032.
Interestingly, the researchers noted that the greatest increase in incidence was observed among patients above 70 years old, which might suggest older patients are staying active longer and desiring elective procedures to maintain their active levels. They concluded by noting that as the incidence of LALR increases in older patients, more research will be needed to understand the unique surgical considerations and risk factors impacting patient-reported outcomes.
Source: Ellis LN, Karzon AL, Bariteau JT, Labib SA, Kadakia RJ, Coleman MM. Lateral Ankle Ligament Repair Is Not Only for Young Patients: Trends in Incidence and Demographics. Foot Ankle Spec. 2024:19386400241266361. doi: 10.1177/19386400241266361. Used with permission.
