As a Reconstructive Foot and Ankle Surgeon watching how Odell Beckham Jr landed on his left ankle after jumping to catch a pass, it’s no surprise that he likely needs ankle fracture surgery. The video shows his foot twist outwardly suggesting a more complex ankle fracture, a pronation type of injury. Most ankle fractures occur when the ankle rolls inward, and these generally carry a better prognosis than the type of mechanism that Odell seemed to incur.
The term “ankle fracture” or “broken ankle” simply means that one of the two ankle bones are broken. A bone break is synonymous with fracture. The ankle is made up of two leg bones and one foot bone. The outer ankle bone, called the fibula, is most commonly broken with ankle fractures. The inner ankle bone, called the tibia, is larger bone and when it's broken can suggest a more significant injury especially in higher energy injuries (such as athletes or falling from height)
Only the xrays will demonstrate the extent of damage. The fact that Odell requires surgery indicates that the ankle bones are either shifted out of position and/or unstable. The way his foot landed and twisted suggests that both the inner and outer bones are damaged - a medical term called a bimalleolar or trimalleolar injury or fracture. Sometimes ankle fractures can also involve severe ligament injuries.
An example of a high energy ankle fracture requiring surgery.
The purpose of any ankle fracture surgery is manually realign the broken bones into proper position. The bones are stabilized with orthopedic hardware involving metallic screws and bone plates. The bones are held together with these screws while the body naturally mends the bone together, a process that takes 6-8 weeks. A more serious injury is one where both bones of the ankle are broken along with a strong ligament that keeps the the two leg bones together (called the syndesmosis) - and these generally occur with more pronation type injuries, which is what Odell appeared to sustain.
As with most athletes who undergo surgery we won’t know the true extent of the injury. If his ankle fracture is a straightforward type injury we can expect him to return to full function after a successful surgery and rehabilitation - a process of 3 months or so. However, if his fractures is more complex, which I suspect it is, then the recovery can be up to 6 months and it would remain to be seen if he’ll get back to full function. Either way, we are all rooting for the best for him.
—
Dr. Neal Blitz, is a reconstructive foot and ankle surgeon in New York and Beverly Hills. He has been featured on ABC, Good Morning America Health, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and many more. Patients routinely travel from all over the world for foot and ankle surgery with Dr. Blitz. Learn more visit www.DrNealBlitz.com