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Most patients return to activity without pain after surgery for tarsal coalitions
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A survey of patients who underwent surgical excision of tarsal coalitions at age 18 years or younger showed 73% reported their activity was not inhibited by foot pain at midterm follow-up, and investigators found no significant differences in patient-reported outcomes between those treated for calcaneonavicular and talocalcaneal conditions.
Using surgical billing records, researchers retrospectively identified 63 patients who underwent surgical excision for a tarsal coalition. Patients were asked to answer mailed questionnaires that included the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) activity scale, a modified American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score and a question on whether patient activity was limited due to foot pain.
Of the 63 patients who answered the questionnaire, investigators found 20 patients had talocalcaneal (TC) coalitions and 43 patients had calcaneonavicular (CN) coalitions. At an average of 4.62 years postoperatively, the overall mean AOFAS and UCLA activity scores were 88.3 and 8.33, respectively. AOFAS scores and UCLA scores were similar between patients with TC and CN coalitions.
Overall, 73% of patients reported their activity levels were not affected by foot pain. The mean AOFAS and UCLA scores of this group were 93.9 and 8.9, respectively. The remaining 27% of patients who reported activity levels affected by foot pain had mean AOFAS and UCLA scores of 72.9 and 6.9, respectively.
Although investigators found significant differences between patients who reported pain with activity and those who did not in regard to AOFAS and UCLA activity scores; results were not significantly different between patients who underwent surgery for CN vs. TC coalitions. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: Mahan reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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