Total ankle replacement

experience after 65 cases

Abstract

Objective: Describe the clinical, radiological, functional outcomes and the complications in the patients who underwent a total ankle replacement with these implants and including the different etiologies. Methods: This is a simple cross-sectional study in which the radiological, clinical and functional results of patients who underwent total ankle replacement preformed by our surgical foot and ankle team, from January 2011 until July 2015 will be described. Results: Sixty-five patients where included in the study, 37 females (57%) and 28 males (43%). No case was bilateral. 62 cases (94.5%) were posttraumatic. 1 patient, 1.5%, had a hemophilic arthopathy. Two patients (3%) had rheumatoid arthritis. The AOFAS scale before surgery had an average score of 19 (range 10-32), at the end of the study the AOFAS scale improved and had average score of 83 (range 61-100). Sixty patients were very satisfied with their surgeries and 3 patients were not satisfied with their results. Conclusions: In our experience the total ankle replacement is a procedure that achieves the main objective of the tibiotalar arthrosis treatment, which is to relieve pain. In addition to this, it improves or preserves the articular motility, this allows to maintain an adequate gait pattern, reduces the degenerative compromise of the nearby joints and the patients report high levels of satisfaction. In our experience the main intraoperatory complication was the fracture of the malleoli and the postoperatory wound dehiscence. We also, observed that clinical improvement is progressive and the patient resolves their presurgical symptoms around 12 moths after the procedure. Quantitatively, the AOFAS scale showed an important improvement in the patients with the longest long term follow up.