Surgical treatment of calcaneal fracture malunion

Objective To evaluate the surgical treatment of calcaneal fracture malunion. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of the 19 patients with calcaneal fracture malunion (19 feet) who had been treated from January 2011 to September 2017 at Departments of Joint Surgery and Orthopedic Trauma, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University. They were 16 males and 3 females with the average age of 36.2 years (from 22 to 57 years). According to Stephens-Sanders classification, the malunion was defined as type Ⅰ in 10 cases, as type Ⅱ in 6 and as type Ⅲ in 3. The patients with malunion of type Ⅰ were treated by lateral wall osteotomy and decompression of long and short peroneus muscles to preserve the subtalar joint, those with malunion of type Ⅱ by lateral wall osteotomy and decompression of long and short peroneus muscles followed by subtalar joint fusion, and those with malunion of type Ⅲ by lateral wall osteotomy, decompression of long and short peroneus muscles, medial oblique osteotomy for correction of varus deformity and subtalar joint fusion via both the medial and lateral approaches. The Maryland functional scores were used to assess the postoperative surgical efficacy. Results No such complications happened as incision or implant infection, screw breakage or joint non-fusion. Of the 19 patients, 17 were followed up for 18 to 26 months (mean, 20.5 months). The Maryland scores at the final follow-ups were 90.2±7.3, significantly higher than the preoperative values (38.6±5.5) (t=53.370, P<0.001). Conclusions In the surgical treatment of calcaneal fracture malunion, satisfactory clinical efficacy can be achieved by lateral wall osteotomy and preservation of the subtalar joint for patients with maunion of Stephens-Sanders type Ⅰ, and by subtalar fusion for those with maunion of Stephens-Sanders types Ⅱ-Ⅲ. Key words: Calcaneus; Fractures, bone; Fracture healing; Subtalar joint; Fusion