Ankle fusion with the Hoffmann external fixation device.

For over 100 years, many different types of external fixation have been used to immobilize fracture fragments. The greatest acceptance of external fixation has been with open fractures of the tibia. Three ankle fusions, all complex cases, were performed using the double-framed Hoffmann external fixation device. The deformities treated were a severe post-traumatic equinus deformity of the ankle and forefoot, a painful nonunion of a previous ankle fusion, and an equinus deformity secondary to a transmetatarsal amputation.