Surgical treatment of brachymetatarsia

Abstract

Introduction: The brachymetatarsia, also known as congenital short metatarsus, is a rare malformation, affecting mainly the fourth metatarsus, which is short and hypoplasic. Its etiology is unknown and has a higher incidence on women. Objective: Assess the surgical treatment of brachymetatarsia using the “Z” lengthening procedure of the shortened metatarsus or lengthening it with an autologous tibia bone graft technique. Methods: Four patients were assessed , three females and one male, mean age of 29.5 years old, six feet comand a total of seven shortened metatarsus with a mean shortening of 10.14 millimeters. It was performed, the “Z” lengthening procedure in three metatarsus and, in the other four, the lengthening with bone graft technique, with a follow-up of 15.1 months. Three patients had previous complaints of metatarsalgia with pressure plantar callosity under the heads of adjacent metatarsus. Results: According to the evaluation criteria, there were five satisfactory results, with an average lengthening of eight millimeters, and one unsatisfactory result. Conclusions: The surgical techniques used produced a lengthening of the shortened metatarsus. The technique which uses the tibia bone graft seems to be easier to perform, and can be performed without the use of a micro saw.