Anteromedial Soft Tissue Impingement of the Ankle: Assessment with Contrast-Enhanced 3D-FSPGR MR Imaging

Introduction With repetitive ankle sprains, reparative tissues can be generated and often become hypertrophied and entrapped in the ankle joint. They induce and aggravate synovitis, sometimes causing soft tissue impingement of the ankle. Although comparatively rare, anteromedial soft tissue impingement is becoming increasingly reported on the radiologic and orthopedic literature (1-5). However, routine MR imaging has not yet been proven useful in detecting anteromedial soft tissue impingement. In a previous study, it has been reported that diagnostic accuracy of CE 3D-FSPGR was high in assessing anteromedial soft tissue impingement (6). That has a few limitations; the small number of population and the lack of comparison with routine MR imaging. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of contrast enhanced (CE), fat suppressed, 3D-FSPGR MR imaging in the diagnosis of anteromedial soft tissue impingement of the ankle, comparing to routine MR Imaging.