Factors affecting healing of ankle fractures.

Ankle fractures have been widely described in orthopedic and podiatric studies. These injuries have been associated with significant patient morbidity, infection, malunion, nonunion, and arthritis. Avoiding complications and optimizing outcomes demands an awareness of the factors affecting the healing of ankle fractures. The prognosis of surgical treatment of these injuries has varied according to patient factors or injury severity, or a combination. Cigarette smoking, obesity, and diabetes are some of the factors linked to the prognosis of ankle fractures. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 58 patients treated for an ankle fracture at a single center. The objective of the present study was to comprehensively evaluate the factors affecting the clinical outcome of surgically treated ankle fractures.