Trauma of Foot and Ankle

Unstable medial malleolar fractures are treated with either standard open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) or a percutaneous approach. The percutaneous approach avoids the potentially excessive soft tissue dissection associated with an open approach but can also result in inadequate anatomic reduction. No studies have compared the incidence of radiographic healing of medial malleolar fractures between an open approach and percutaneous fixation. A retrospective comparative study was performed at a single institution across multiple sites...

INTRODUCTION: Hypovitaminosis D is common in patients undergoing orthopaedic trauma surgery. While previous studies have shown that vitamin D levels correlate with functional outcome after hip fracture surgery, the significance of vitamin D levels on outcomes after surgery in other orthopaedic trauma patients is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine if vitamin D levels correlated with outcomes in ankle fracture patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed a prospective registry of patients who underwent operative treatment for ankle fractures from 2003 to 2012...

Low levels of serum vitamin D have been linked to numerous musculoskeletal and nonmusculoskeletal conditions. Vitamin D deficiency appears relatively high among various patient subpopulations, including patients with fracture nonunion. We conducted a retrospective study to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in a large population of patients with orthopedic trauma. The study included all patients who were over age 18 years, had no risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, and were treated for an acute fracture at a Level 1 trauma center...

Controversy is ongoing regarding the use of bone grafts to fill cavities that occur with collapse of the posterior facet in the joint and for repair of the calcaneal height with plating. The present study included 40 patients with 43 displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures treated with open reduction and internal fixation from March 2009 to November 2013. In the present case-control study, the patients were separated into 2 groups: group A received an allograft (20 patients, 22 calcaneal fractures) and group B did not (20 patients, 21 calcaneal fractures)...

In this report we present two cases of gunshot injury related midfoot defects, reconstructed with a chimeric partial scapula and latissimus dorsi muscle flap and short perforator-based skin flap. The first case, a 14 years old male, had 10 × 8 cm medial plantar and 6 × 4 cm dorsal foot defects and the second case, a 55 years old female, had only 8 × 6 cm dorsal foot defect. In both cases the defects were associated with fractures, one with lateral cuneiform and cuboid with 90% bone loss and the other with navicular bone, respectively...

BACKGROUND: It is usually accepted that acquired flatfoot deformity after injury is usually due to partial or complete tear of the posterior tibial tendon (PTT), with secondary failure of the other structures which maintain the medial longitudinal arch, such as the plantar calcaneo-navicular (SPRING) ligament. It is unusual to find an isolated Spring Ligament (SL) tear, with an intact TP tendon. METHODS: The medial arch reconstruction technique of an isolated SL tear in 5 patients is presented discussed in this paper...

BACKGROUND: Intra-articular calcaneus fractures result in heel shortening, widening, varus malalignment, and loss of height. Little has been written regarding superior displacement of the calcaneal tuber, which warrants consideration as previous literature has demonstrated issues arising from a shortened triceps surae. We sought to determine the amount of tuber elevation seen in calcaneus fractures as compared to normal calcanei and propose 2 new measurements that aid in quantifying displacement and may aid in the surgical management of calcaneus fractures...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVES: To highlight a technique combining fluoroscopy and arthroscopy to aid percutaneous reduction and internal fixation of selected displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures, assess outcome scores, and compare this method with other previously reported percutaneous methods. DESIGN: Retrospective review of all patients treated by this technique between June 2009 and June 2012. SETTING: A tertiary care center located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether surgery by open reduction and internal fixation provides benefit compared with non-operative treatment for displaced, intra-articular calcaneal fractures. DESIGN: Pragmatic, multicentre, two arm, parallel group, assessor blinded randomised controlled trial (UK Heel Fracture Trial). SETTING: 22 tertiary referral hospitals, United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: 151 patients with acute displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures randomly allocated to operative (n=73) or non-operative (n=78) treatment...

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting data regarding the benefits of delaying operative fixation of calcaneus fractures to decrease wound complication rates. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of delaying fixation on wound complication rates as well as to identify other risk factors. METHODS: A retrospective review at 4 institutions, including 24 surgeons, identified 405 closed, operatively treated, intra-articular calcaneus fractures. We compared fractures with and without wound complications with regards to patient demographics, medical risk factors, fracture severity, time to fixation, operative approach, primary subtalar arthrodesis, and surgeon experience...

BACKGROUND: The deep peroneal nerve innervates muscles of the anterior leg compartment and the dorsum of the foot, and also receives sensation from the first interdigital cleft of the foot. Along its course in lower part of the leg, this nerve is very close to the anterolateral surface of the tibia and might be vulnerable to injury in fractures of the tibia or during surgery. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to clarify the relationship between the deep peroneal nerve and anterolateral surface of tibia...

A 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy (spastic diplegia) underwent examination due to a chief complaint of right foot pain, and was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the central one third of the navicular bone. The fracture was considered to have developed due to repeated loading on the navicular bone as a result of an equinus gait.Therefore, she underwent osteosynthesis and Achilles tendon lengthening to correct the equinus deformity. Following our review of the current literature, we did not identify any reports of stress fracture of the navicular bone in cerebral palsy...

Lisfranc injuries are commonly asked about in FRCS Orthopaedic trauma vivas. The term "Lisfranc injury" strictly refers to an injury where one or more of the metatarsals are displaced from the tarsus. The term is more commonly used to describe an injury to the midfoot centred on the 2nd tarsometatarsal joint. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin (1790-1847), a French surgeon and gynaecologist who first described the injury in 1815. 'Lisfranc injury' encompasses a broad spectrum of injuries, which can be purely ligamentous or involve the osseous and articular structures...

Lisfranc ligament and joint injuries are relatively uncommon but can result from a variety of low- and high-impact trauma. Up to 20% of Lisfranc fracture-dislocations are misdiagnosed or missed during the initial evaluation. Timely and accurate diagnosis of the injury and early anatomical reduction and stabilization of the Lisfranc joint are crucial to avoid long-term sequelae and functional impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a sensitive and specific imaging modality and should be considered in injuries with equivocal physical and radiographic findings...

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical characteristics, the treatment, and the outcome of lateral process fracture of the talus in children. METHODS: From March 2011 to October 2013, 12 children with lateral process fracture of the talus were treated in our hospital. The study contained 3 female and 9 male patients, including 8 patients affected on the left side and 4 on the right side. The age at the time of injury ranged from 8 to 13 years. Concomitant injuries included undisplaced calcaneus fractures in 1 case and distal fibula epiphysis injury in 1 case...

INTRODUCTION: The majority of patients with extremity sarcoma can be surgically treated without amputation. However, limb-salvage surgery for foot sarcomas including the calcaneus remains challenging. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 71-year-old man presented with a 5-year history of right heel persistent pain. Imaging studies revealed an osteolytic, destructive and highly metabolic lesion in the right calcaneus. Computed tomography guided core needle biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of grade 2 chondrosarcoma...

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to report the results of selective open reduction and internal fixation of fractures of the posterior malleolus with a posterolateral approach and to compare the results of the 2 techniques. METHODS: We prospectively evaluated 40 patients who underwent posterior malleolar fracture fixation between 2008 and 2012. The patients were treated with a posterolateral approach. We assigned alternating patients to receive plate fixation and the next screw fixation, consecutively, based on the order in which they presented to our institution...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the primary bending stiffness characteristics of 5 different ankle arthrodesis fixation techniques: 3 compression screws, an anterior locking plate, a lateral locking plate, an anterior locking plate with a compression screw, and a lateral locking plate with a compression screw. A total of 25 full-scale anatomic models consisting of fourth-generation composite tibiae and tali were tested using an Instron 4505 Universal Testing System. We hypothesized that the use of a compression screw with a locking plate would add considerable stiffness to the fixation construct compared with the use of a locking plate alone...