I just read a posting I made in early a.m. and there were sure a lot of errors, how embarrassing (hopefully no one read it). At the end I suggested leaving the roots unpruned of a fig tree that has been allowed to root out from its container into surrounding soil. I meant to suggest that after pruning the roots while digging the tree out in the fall you should try leaving the branches alone and not to cut them back. I suspect you will find that there will be no die-back of branches as a result of a reduced root structure.
[NAFEX] root pruning mistake,
Alan Haigh, 08/06/2008