The Lauge Hansen classification of malleolar fractures.

A total of 488 fractures of the ankle are described and classified into types and stages according to Lauge Hansen (1942). The classification was partly based on operative findings. The type division was: supination-eversion fractures 57.4 per cent, supination fractures 20.1 per cent, pronation and pronation-eversion fractures 20.1 per cent and pronation-dorsiflexion fractures 0.4 per cent. A small percentage of the fractures (1.2) could not be fitted into this system, and two-thirds of these were found to have an isolated fracture of the posterior tibial margin. This fracture seems to be a special type of ankle fracture. It was found that the stage 2 injury in pronation and pronation-eversion fractures is not fully explained by Lauge Hansen. The classification of Lauge Hansen gives a very exact description of ankle fractures. This is very important for the operative treatment and also indispensable for the evaluation of the results of various methods of treatment.