Vertical contour calcanectomy: A case series in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania

Abstract

Diabetes is an epidemic in the United States contributing to poor outcomes related to ulceration and lower leg amputations. Physicians from a number of specialties are continuing to seek opportunities to improve patient outcomes and maintain independence. Podiatric surgeons have an affinity for limb salvage in the face of acute or chronic ulcer complications of the lower extremity. In particular, heel ulcerations increase the risk of proximal amputation due to locality and the propensity for heel osteomyelitis. Partial calcanectomy (PC) had been a viable option prior to below knee amputation, but recent literature by Elmarsafi et al. shows an increasing number of positive outcomes with a new procedure called the vertical contour calcanectomy (VCC). This has prompted researchers from Georgetown University to develop and publish this technique since 2019. The purpose of this article was to validate the versality and reproducibility of limb salvage with use of the VCC in the rural region of Northeast Pennsylvania in the management of complicated infections of the heel.