PURPOSE: To define a new parameter in CT that could make imaging of the contralateral ankle dispensable evaluating the position of the fibula after syndesmotic injury.
METHODS: Thirty bilateral CTs of 30 patients were included. Five parameters were defined in axial CT for the injured (_inju) and uninjured (_unin) ankle. Reproducibility was examined for inter-observer and intra-observer reliability. Comparisons for all parameters were performed between the CT scans of both ankles.
RESULTS: All measurements had a high agreement for the inter-observer and intra-observer correlation coefficients. A large interindividual variance could be found between all parameters. If the difference of the anterior tibiofibular distance antTFD_unin and antTFD_inju was less than 2 mm, there was a strong significant pairwise correlation between all parameters between both sides.
CONCLUSION: Bilateral CT is still to be recommended, as it is the only way to exactly assess anterior posterior reduction of the fibula.