Tarsal coalitions in adults

An update

Abstract

Tarsal coalition or synostosis in adults is a very infrequent condition, though its real incidence is truly unknown. Most of them are asymptomatic and may present as pain after minor trauma. Initially, treatment is conservative, but surgery must be considered when this fails. The most common procedures for surgical management are resection of the coalition and arthrodesis, which depends on its size and location, as well as the association to osteoarthritis and hindfoot malalignment. However, on the contrary to TC in children, there is no consensus for the preferred surgical procedure in adult population. The objective of this revision is to discuss different approaches on study and treatment of TC based on international publications to date.