Traumatic rupture of the tibialis posterior tendon after ankle fracture: a case report.

Degenerative tears of the posterior tibial tendon associated with chronic disease are well documented in the literature. Traumatic ruptures of this tendon, however, are much less common and consequently have received little attention. An association has been shown between pronation-external rotation ankle fractures and tears of the tendons that cross the medial aspect of the ankle, most commonly the posterior tibial tendon. In the present case report, we share our unique experience of an open-ankle fracture associated with the traumatic rupture of the posterior tibial tendon. This injury illustrates that soft-tissue injury must always be suspected concomitantly in the treatment of certain fractures on the basis of both mechanism of injury and fracture pattern.