Radiological diagnosis of lateral ligament lesion of the ankle. A comparison between talar tilt and anterior drawer sign.

In a prospective study of 244 patients with ankle lesions a comparison between the talar tilt and the anterior drawer sign was made, leading to the following conclusions: Ligament lesions which are not disclosed by the talar tilt examination may be diagnosed by the anterior drawer sign. The anterior drawer sign cannot replace the talar tilt examination, or vice versa. The two methods are complementary. It is not possible to differentiate between an isolated lesion of the anterior talofibular ligament and a combined lesion of the anterior talofibular and the calcaneofibular ligaments by the two methods.