Preoperative Mental Health Score and Postoperative Outcome After Hallux Valgus Surgery.

BACKGROUND:: Preoperative mental health status as a predictor of operative outcome has been a growing area of interest. In this paper, the correlation between preoperative mental health status and postoperative functional outcome following scarf osteotomy for hallux valgus correction was explored.

METHODS:: Parameters were tabulated preoperatively and postoperatively at a minimum of 1-year follow-up. They included the Short Form 36 (SF-36), American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) forefoot score, hallux valgus angle (HVA), and intermetatarsal angle (IMA) measurements and the visual analog score (VAS) to quantify pain. SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) score was used as a surrogate for patient's mental health status. Seventy-six consecutive cases were analyzed at a minimum of 1-year follow-up.

RESULTS:: There were significant improvements in all 8 domains of the SF-36, with the mean MCS score increasing from 52.3 ± 7.6 preoperatively to 55.7 ± 6.8 postoperatively. Preoperative MCS scores were not correlated to changes in AOFAS score, PCS score, VAS pain score, HVA or IMA. Preoperative MCS was observed to be correlated to postoperative AOFAS ( r = 0.381, P = .001) and PCS score ( r = 0.315, P = .006). Patients with a preoperative MCS score ⩾50 had a statistically higher postoperative AOFAS and PCS score than patients with MCS score <50. There was no correlation between preoperative MCS scores and improvements in radiologic parameters. There was also no correlation between the improvements in radiologic parameters and improvements in both the AOFAS and VAS pain scores.

CONCLUSION:: Preoperative mental health (as measured by the MCS score) was only correlated to postoperative functional outcome (as measured by the postoperative AOFAS and PCS score), but not other postoperative outcomes (VAS pain score, radiologic parameters).

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:: Level III, comparative study.