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Ankle Surgery Specialists
Serving Sunnyvale & East Dallas, Texas
Ankle pain can stem from many sources — sprains, acute injuries, or ankle arthritis. When it lingers, you may need an ankle surgery specialist in Sunnyvale, TX, or an ankle surgeon in East Dallas. An orthopedic surgeon with dedicated foot-and-ankle training is the right person to assess your condition and recommend the best path forward.
At Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center, our goal is simple: resolve your joint pain, restore your range of motion, and return you to the activities and lifestyle you love. Dr. John Hibbitts evaluates each ankle condition individually and determines whether surgery is the right choice — from fracture repair to ligament reconstruction, cartilage repair, or a non-surgical treatment plan tailored to your needs.
Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center is a dual-practitioner practice, with Dr. Hibbitts and Dr. Reed Bartz caring for patients across Sunnyvale, East Dallas, and the surrounding communities.
Your Ankle Surgeon
Texas Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon
Dr. Hibbitts is a Texas board-certified orthopedic surgeon who has worked to fix ankle instability since 1994. He specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and restoration of sports injuries and chronic joint conditions in patients of all ages — with particular focus on the shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle.
With more than 20 years of experience, he is recognized as a leading ankle surgeon serving Sunnyvale and East Dallas. He performs ankle stabilization, fracture repair (ORIF), ligament reconstruction and tightening, and cartilage repair, and founded the Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center in 2021.
Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center is a dual-practitioner practice. Ankle surgery is led by Dr. Hibbitts, and he is joined at the practice by Dr. Reed Bartz — giving patients across Sunnyvale and East Dallas trusted, board-certified orthopedic care close to home.
Our surgeons and the Sunnyvale Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center proudly extend high-quality, personalized care to the Sunnyvale and greater East Dallas communities.
A trusted ankle surgeon near East Dallas, based in Sunnyvale, Texas. Visit our convenient location near I-635 and Hwy 80.
"Ankle stabilization surgery" covers a range of procedures designed to repair and restore damaged ankle bones and tissues. The right approach depends on the specific structures involved — from broken bones to ligament damage — and on which part of your ankle has sustained the injury.
When a bone in the ankle takes a blow or excessive pressure, its structure can fail — causing a break or fracture near the joint. Beyond being painful, many breaks will not fully heal without surgery to suture or reattach the damaged structures.
The best way to diagnose an ankle fracture is by examining the joint on an X-ray or other imaging test. Our surgeons may order these tests to determine the type and placement of your fracture. With more than 20 years of experience in ankle fracture repair, Dr. Hibbitts can determine the right surgery for your broken ankle.
Surgery allows the surgeon to reposition the bones or remove small fragments that could impair healing. Most ankle fracture repair uses an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) procedure: the surgeon makes an incision to examine the fracture, repositions the damaged bones, and secures them with metal plates or screws. This stabilizes the joint so the bones can re-fuse and heal completely.
Post-surgery ankle stabilization may require a cast or boot.
Ligaments connect bones and can be injured by overuse, stress, excessive pressure, twisting, or hyperextension. Ankle ligament surgery may fix your ankle instability. Even without a sudden trauma, ankle ligaments can wear out over time and with repeated minor sprains. A knowledgeable ankle ligament surgeon can determine which procedure is right for your specific ankle pain.
Ankle ligament repair surgery — sometimes called ankle reconstruction surgery or ankle ligament tightening — can involve any ligament in the ankle.
If your ankle frequently rolls to the side, or if extending your foot causes pain or a sensation of pressure, your ligaments may be damaged. When these stabilizing tissues are overstretched or torn, they no longer hold the foot bones in place correctly, and a ligament tightening procedure may correct it.
The surgeon makes small incisions to reattach and tighten the ligaments. This can include removing damaged tissue, drilling small holes in the bone, and using donor ligament tissue to graft and suture damaged ligaments in place. Most ankle ligament repair can be performed as an outpatient procedure.
The success rate for ankle ligament surgery is very high — as many as 95% of patients report full recovery. For the best chance of success after ankle ligament repair, proper aftercare is essential.
When articular cartilage wears down or is damaged, the ankle joint loses the smooth cushioning it needs for pain-free movement. Cartilage repair procedures aim to restore that surface and protect the joint. Dr. Hibbitts performs the following cartilage repair procedures:
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A minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure, highly successful for small osteochondral injuries. Using small incisions and a specialized surgical camera, Dr. Hibbitts removes damaged cartilage and drills small holes into the bone to encourage the formation of new fibrocartilage.
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Using donor tissue from the patient's own body or cadaver tissue, Dr. Hibbitts repairs and replaces damaged cartilage to restore function to the ankle joint.
In studies of patients who had ankle cartilage repair surgery, more than 85% reported that they could return to a pain-free life and resume normal activities. One study that followed patients more than ten years after ankle ligament reconstruction found long-term results to be excellent — even for amateur and professional athletes. Patients reported full use and mobility, and imaging tests showed full healing.
Most procedures to fix ankle instability take about one hour to perform. An extensive ankle cartilage repair that requires a transplant, or a complex ankle fracture repair, may take three to four hours depending on the complexity of the injury.
Most patients experience few or no complications after ankle stabilization surgery. As with any surgery, some risks exist:
Follow our surgeons' recommendations to minimize post-surgical complications.
After ankle stabilization surgery, you may need crutches for the first four to six weeks to avoid overstressing the healing ankle. For the following four to six weeks, you may need a stabilizing boot. Even after returning to a regular shoe, an ankle brace may be recommended for continued support. Around four weeks into healing, you can begin a series of physical therapy exercises customized to your specific needs, promoting full healing in your foot, leg, and ankle joint.