Calcaneal derotation osteotomy for clubfoot revision surgery

Abstract

To describe a derotation calcaneal osteotomy technique and assess its efficacy in the correction of relapsed clubfoot. Twenty-one osteotomies were performed in 20 children with recurrent clubfoot. Nineteen children had been previously treated operatively. The derotation osteotomy was the first procedure performed in one case. The procedure combined medial and plantar releases, followed by a curvilinear osteotomy of the calcaneus. Patients were evaluated clinically and with standing dorsoplantar and lateral radiographs preoperatively, postoperatively and at follow-up. The talocalcaneal angle was considered as the most important criteria to evaluate the deformity correction. The clubfoot was idiopathic in 16 cases and neurological in five cases. Mean age at surgery was 7 years old (range 3.4-12 years). Total number of procedures per foot averaged 2.4 (range 4-1). The mean postoperative follow-up period was 2.8 years (range 2-6 years). The talocalcaneal angle increased significantly after the procedure (P<0.001), and no significant loss of correction was seen at latest follow-up (P=0.17). Two scarring complications occurred. Only one foot underwent further surgery after the calcaneal osteotomy for residual forefoot adduction, associated to a cavus and severe fibrosis. The calcaneal curvilinear osteotomy, in which the calcaneoforefoot unit derotation is performed around the talus but within the calcaneus, is a safe and efficient technique that can be proposed for clubfoot revision surgery.