Minimally invasive subtalar joint and talonavicular joint preparation for hindfoot arthrodesis: A Cadaveric study evaluating structures at risk

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Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is growing in popularity due to smaller incisions, faster recovery times with less post-operative pain, and measurable decreases in morbidity. Our center performed an MIS hindfoot joint preparation about the talonavicular and subtalar joints and defined structures at risk in order to make this procedure more reproducible. Using ten fresh frozen cadaver limbs, we created a medial and lateral portal for talonavicular joint (TN) access, and an additional portal for subtalar joint (STJ) access to prepare the subtalar joint. After denuding the aforementioned joints of cartilage, the specimens were dissected to identify nearby anatomical structures. We documented the position of the peroneal sheath and sural nerve relative to the STJ portal, and the position of the dorsalis pedis artery (DP), medial dorsal cutaneous nerve (MDCN), extensor hallucis longus (EHL), extensor digitorum longus (EDL), tibialis anterior (TA), and tibialis posterior (TP) tendons relative to the TN portals. The average distance of the sural nerve and the peroneal sheath from the STJ portal was 34.21 mm and 14.12 mm respectively. The average distance of the DP, MDCN, and deep peroneal nerve from the medial and lateral TN portals were 13.31 mm, 11.54 mm, and 17.14 respectively. No neurovascular structures were transected throughout joint preparation. To our knowledge this is the first study looking into structures at risk for this specific procedure.