G. James Sammarco

Treatment of talar osteochondral lesions using local osteochondral graft.

Twelve patients with an osteochondral lesion of the talus were treated with excision of the lesions and local osteochondral autogenous grafting. The lesion was accessed through a replaceable bone block removed from the anterior tibial plafond. The graft was harvested from the medial or lateral talar articular facet on the same side of the lesion. The average age of the patients was 41 years and duration of symptoms was 90 months (ave.). There were six males and six females with the right talus involved in eight and the left in four patients. Graft sizes ranged from four to eight millimeters in diameter. There was a significant improvement in the AOFAS score from 64.4 (ave.) pre-operatively to 90.8 (ave.) postoperatively (p>0.0001), at a follow-up of 25.3 months (ave.). The AOFAS score was slightly higher in patients under 40 years of age and in those without pre-existing joint arthritis. All patients were very satisfied with the procedure. Arthroscopy performed in two patients at six and 12 months following surgery showed good graft incorporation. No complications occurred at the donor site or the site of bone block removal on the distal tibia. The results show that stage III and IV talar osteochondral lesions can be accessed successfully excising a tibial bone block and using local autogenous osteochondral graft harvested from the ipsilateral talar articular facet.

Complications after surgery of the hallux

The great toe is affected by many congenital and acquired conditions including arthritis, hallux valgus, and hallux rigidus and disease of the hallucal sesamoids. Many surgical procedures have been described for the treatment of these conditions. With the increased popularity of forefoot surgery comes the potential for complications even when the surgery is done meticulously by an experienced surgeon under well-planned conditions. When a complication occurs, it can present difficult and challenging problems. It is, therefore, important to recognize a complication early so it may be analyzed and treated successfully. When recognized, a plan should be developed to identify, quantify, control, and resolve the problem. The current review defines some common complications and treatment options. Several problems may exist at the same time. A solution addressing all aspects of the problem must be designed so as not to augment the presenting complications. Salvage operations and long-term treatment are included to provide a perspective on treatment of residual deformity. It is important to realize that there often are several solutions to a difficult problem. Many factors influence the surgeons choice and implementation of a solution, but the ultimate outcome always depends on a well thought out plan.

Bunion Correction Using Proximal Chevron Osteotomy

Fifty-one cases of moderate to severe bunion deformity with hallux valgus and metatarsus primus varus in 43 patients were treated by bunionectomy, proximal Chevron metatarsal osteotomy, lateral capsulotomy, adductor tenotomy, and lashing of first and second metatarsals together. The hallux valgus angle improved an average of 19° from 33° (mean) preoperatively to 14° (mean) postoperatively. The intermetatarsal angle improved an average of 7.3° from an average of 14° preoperatively to an average of 6° postoperatively. The position of the sesamoids was realigned to beneath the first metatarsal head and the metatarsal length remained essentially unchanged. Union occurred in 9 weeks (mean). No malunions occurred. Foot score profiles revealed a significant improvement in subjective evaluation from 69/100 preoperatively to 83/100 postoperatively with respect to pain, deformity, motion, disability, and cosmesis. Seventy-eight percent of patients had a good to excellent result. Improved subjective evaluations indicated that proximal Chevron osteotomy combined with bunionectomy, capsulotomy, tenotomy, and metatarsal lashing provides a reliable method with respect to stability, technical ease, low complication, and satisfactory surgical outcome for correction of moderate and severe bunion deformity, both as a primary and revision procedure.

Peroneus Longus Tendon Tears: Acute and Chronic

Tear of the peroneus longus tendon can be difficult to diagnose and treat. Fourteen cases of clinically proven tears are reported. Patients ranged in age from 31 to 63 years. There were 10 men and four women. The onset of symptoms was acute in eight cases. Chronic onset with slowly increasing pain occurred in six cases. Despite acute onset of symptoms, only one patient was diagnosed within 2 weeks of his injury. The others had symptom duration ranging from 7 to 48 months. Twelve tears were located distally as the tendon turned into the cuboid groove. An os peroneum visible on x-ray was present in six cases, absent in seven cases, and cartilaginous in one case. The os peroneum was involved in the tear in three cases. Excision of part or all of the os peroneum was performed in four cases with a bridging tendon graft required in one case. A plantaris tendon graft was required in one case in which an os peroneum was absent. Patients with acute onset of symptoms tended to fare better than those with chronic onset of symptoms, regardless of the length of time from onset to time of surgery. Associated pathology in the peroneus brevis tendon was common, occurring in nine cases. These patients seemed to have a better surgical outcome than those with only a tear of the peroneus longus tendon. Associated findings affected diagnosis by masking symptoms but did not alter the outcome of treatment. The presence or absence of an os peroneum did not affect symptoms or treatment, but its presence on x-rays may aid in the diagnosis if migration of part or all of the sesamoid occurs.

Chronic Peroneus Brevis Tendon Lesions

Changes can occur in the peroneus brevis tendon following ankle injuries or sprains. A series of 14 tendon lesions is reported in the ankles of 13 patients. The duration of symptoms ranged from 8 months to 20 years. The predominant symptom in 12 ankles was lateral pain. In 11 ankles, lateral ankle instability was treated by a reconstruction with the split peroneus brevis graft, and in one ankle, by direct repair. The defects were found during harvest of the graft. One patient had previous fractures with bony impingement and one had a chronic tear of the tibialis posterior tendon with pes planus. All lesions were located in the segment of the tendon at or distal to the lateral malleolus. The lesions were 2 to 5 cm in length, single or multiple, and with a grossly degenerative appearance. No avulsions or anomalies of the tendon were found. In 11 patients, the defect in the peroneus brevis was incorporated into the portion of the tendon in ankle ligament reconstruction for use as a graft; in 2 cases it was repaired directly. On follow-up of eight months to four and one half years, twelve ankles had significant improvement in pain and function.

Surgical Treatment of Recalcitrant Plantar Fasciitis

Twenty-six patients (35 feet) underwent partial plantar fasciectomy with neurolysis of the nerve to the abductor digiti quinti muscle. Nonsurgical treatment for plantar fasciitis had been unsuccessful in these patients. Patients were followed after surgery for an average of 37.5 months. Six patients were male and 20 patients were female; the average age was 49 years. All patients had failed to respond to nonsurgical treatment for an average of 21.5 months. In addition to routine history and physical examination patients were evaluated before and after surgery with a subjective foot rating system, and a detailed questionnaire was used to assess postoperative functional outcome. Thirty-two patients (92%) had a satisfactory functional outcome, and three patients (8%) had an unsatisfactory result (21 excellent, 11 good, 3 fair, 0 poor). The Maryland Foot Score increased from a preoperative average of 74.8/100 points to a postoperative average of 90.6/100 points. Four patients (11%) had postoperative complications, including superficial wound infection (two patients), deep venous thrombosis (one patient), and superficial phlebitis (one patient), all of which resolved uneventfully with treatment. Ten patients (28.6%) reported some degree of heel pain after surgery. All 10 patients denied limitation in activity related to postoperative pain. The average period before return to daily activity and restricted work duty was 5.6 weeks and to full work duty without restriction was 8.7 weeks. Although the length of time for partial or complete resolution of symptoms is variable, a successful treatment outcome can be expected in most patients who are treated for recalcitrant plantar fasciitis.

Arthrodesis of the Subtalar and Talonavicular Joints for Correction of Symptomatic Hindfoot Malalignment

Background: Triple arthrodesis has long been used for the treatment of painful malalignment or arthritis of the hindfoot. However, the effect of fusion on adjacent joints has sparked interest in a more limited arthrodesis in patients without involvement of the calcaneocuboid joint. Method: Results of 16 feet in 14 patients who had a modified double arthrodesis for symptomatic flatfoot, cavovarus deformity, or hindfoot arthritis were reviewed retrospectively with a minimum followup of 18 (range 18 to 93) months. The most common diagnosis contributing to the hindfoot deformity was pes planovalgus. All operations were done with a consistent technique using rigid internal fixation with screws. In 15 feet, a concomitant gastrocnemius recession for equinus contracture was done at the time of the primary surgery. Clinical evaluation was based on the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale in addition to subjective assessments of pain, function, shoewear, cosmesis, and overall satisfaction. Radiographic evaluation included measurements of the anterior-posterior talo-second metatarsal angle, lateral talocalcaneal angle, and lateral talo-first metatarsal angle, and notation of arthritic changes of the ankle, calcaneocuboid, and midfoot joints, as well as an assessment of time to union of all arthrodeses. Results: The average AOFAS Ankle-Hindfoot Scale improved from 44.7 preoperatively to 77.0 postoperatively (p < 0.01). Subjectively, patients experienced improvements in pain, function, cosmesis, and shoewear. Overall, all patients were satisfied and would have the procedure again under similar circumstances. Radiographically, all parameters statistically improved. There was an increase in arthritic scores for six ankle, six calcaneocuboid, and five midfoot joints. One talonavicular joint nonunion occurred in a rheumatoid patient, requiring revision arthrodesis. Conclusions: We have concluded that simultaneous arthrodesis of the talonavicular and subtalar joints is a reasonable treatment in the subset of patients with symptomatic hindfoot malalignment whose calcaneocuboid joints are not involved in the primary disease.

Surgical Treatment of Neuroarthropathic Foot Deformity

Twenty-seven feet with neuroarthropathic fracture resulting in significant deformity were treated with surgical reconstruction. The average age of the patients was 57 years with 21 patients having diabetes mellitus an average of 24 years. Five patterns of midfoot collapse were identified. The most common patterns involved abduction and dorsal displacement of the forefoot with equinus of the hindfoot. Preoperative evaluation included a medical assessment, adequate control of blood sugar, and a comprehensive vascular evaluation. Five patients presented for surgical consultation with open plantar ulcers. Four were healed with total contact casting alone whereas one patient required an exostectomy to heal the ulcer before surgery. After reconstruction, all feet had improvement in their weightbearing posture. For feet with midfoot involvement, the average anteroposterior talo-first metatarsal angle increased 5°, and the average lateral talo-first metatarsal angle decreased 6.5°. There was no significant loss of correction at long term follow-up. The average time in a cast postoperatively was 5.7 months, and the time to unrestricted weightbearing was 7 months. All patients were able to wear over-the-counter footwear postoperatively. Significant complications included six nonunions and two feet with extension of the neuroarthropathic process. One nonunion required revision surgery, and the feet with extension of their neuroarthropathic fractures required conversion of a triple arthrodesis to a pantalar fusion and the addition of a triple arthrodesis after a successful midfoot fusion. No infections or amputations occurred as a result of the surgery. Function increased and pain decreased as a result of successful arthrodesis. Surgical reconstruction of midfoot, hindfoot, and ankle neuroarthropathic deformity is a viable alternative to amputation for patients who fail nonoperative care. Proper preoperative evaluation and assessment will result in a rate of complications comparable to foot surgery in nondiabetic patients.

Treatment of stage II posterior tibial tendon dysfunction with flexor hallucis longus transfer and medial displacement calcaneal osteotomy.

Nineteen consecutive patients underwent flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon transfer and medial displacement calcaneal osteotomy for the treatment of Stage 2 posterior tibial tendon dysfunction. The FHL tendon was utilized for transfer because it approximates the strength of the posterior tibialis muscle and is stronger than the peroneus brevis muscle. Seventeen patients returned for follow-up examination, follow-up time 18 months (ave.). The AOFAS hindfoot score improved from 62.4/100 to 83.6/100. The subjective portion of the AOFAS hindfoot score improved from 31.0/60.0 to 48.9/60. Weightbearing preoperative and postoperative radiographs revealed no statistically significant improvement for the medial longitudinal arch in measurements of lateral talo-first metatarsal angle, calcaneal pitch, vertical distance from the floor to the medial cuneiform, or talonavicular coverage angle. Three feet had a normal medial longitudinal arch and six feet had a longitudinal arch similar to the opposite side following the procedure. Patient satisfaction was high: 10 patients satisfied without reservations, 6 patients satisfied with minor reservations, and 1 dissatisfied. No patient complained of donor deficit from the harvested FHL tendon. Despite the inability of the procedure to improve the height of the medial longitudinal arch, FHL transfer combined with medial displacement calcaneal osteotomy yielded good to excellent clinical results and a high patient satisfaction rate.

Midtarsal Arthrodesis in the Treatment of Charcot Midfoot Arthropathy

BACKGROUND Fracture-dislocation of the midfoot with collapse of the longitudinal arch is common in patients with neuropathic arthropathy of the foot. In this study, we describe a technique of midfoot arthrodesis with use of intramedullary axial screw fixation and review the results and complications following use of this technique. METHODS A retrospective study of twenty-two patients who had undergone surgical reconstruction and arthrodesis to treat Charcot midfoot deformity was performed. Bone resection and/or osteotomy were required to reduce deformity. Axially placed intramedullary screws, inserted either antegrade or retrograde across the arthrodesis sites, were used to restore the longitudinal arch. Radiographic measurements were recorded preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at the time of the last follow-up and were analyzed in order to assess the amount and maintenance of correction. RESULTS Patients were evaluated clinically and radiographically at an average of fifty-two months. Complete osseous union was achieved in sixteen of the twenty-two patients, at an average of 5.8 months. There were five partial unions in which a single joint did not unite in an otherwise stable foot. There was one nonunion, with recurrence of deformity. All patients returned to an independent functional ambulatory status within 9.5 months. Weight-bearing radiographs showed the talar-first metatarsal angle, the talar declination angle, and the calcaneal-fifth metatarsal angle to have improved significantly and to have been corrected to nearly normal values by the surgery. All measurements remained significantly improved, as compared with the preoperative values, at the time of final follow-up. There were no recurrent dislocations. Three patients had a recurrent plantar ulcer at the metatarsophalangeal joint that required additional surgery. There were eight cases of hardware failure. CONCLUSIONS Open reduction and arthrodesis with use of multiple axially placed intramedullary screws for the surgical correction of neuropathic midfoot collapse provides a reliable stable construct to achieve and maintain correction of the deformity.