A Retrospective Cohort Analysis Comparing the Costs of Ankle Fracture Fixation in Orthopaedics and Podiatry in a U.S. Medicare Limited Data Set.

Our investigation using a national Medicare data set (2013-2019) found that the 3 types of ankle fractures (unimalleolar, bimalleolar, and trimalleolar) performed by orthopaedic surgeons in an outpatient setting were less expensive and that cost differences do not appear to be driven by patient characteristics. These results and further research into the causes of the cost differences may help improve the cost-effectiveness of ankle fracture surgery.