Numerous studies have demonstrated that concomitant lower back pain (LBP) results in worse functional outcomes in patients undergoing surgical treatment for the management of end stage hip and knee arthritis. However, no equivalent studies have analysed the impact of back pain on the outcomes of patients with end stage
End-stage
Patients often comment on swelling after foot and ankle surgery. However the relationship between swelling and outcome (pain and function) has not previously been outlined. A recent study by Pinsker and Daniels demonstrated that while swelling was rated as important by patients it was rarely included in outcome scores. The purpose of this paper was to determine the relationship between swelling and outcome after ankle fusion or replacement. A secondary purpose was to determine how this relationship changed in time, how swelling score changed before and after surgery, and determine differences in swelling score between total ankle replacement (TAR), open ankle arthrodesis (OAA) and arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis (AAA). The COFAS prospective
A significant portion of ankle arthroplasty and ankle arthrodesis procedures performed in British Columbia are funded by the public medical services plan (MSP). However, some patients are treated privately through self-pay or by the workers compensation board (WCB), with the latter two groups being more likely to receive treatment sooner. The potential effect of payer on patient-reported outcomes and reoperation rates has not been previously explored. A retrospective chart review was performed using data from the Canadian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Prospective Ankle Reconstruction Database. N=443 patients (393 MSP, 26 self-pay, 24 WCB), treated with total ankle replacement or ankle arthrodesis by three subspecialty-trained surgeons in Vancouver from 1999–2003, were analyzed. Outcomes were compared, by payer, preoperatively and at long-term follow-up (6.3 years, range 2–14 years). Function was assessed using the Ankle Osteoarthritis Scale (AOS) Total score (primary outcome) and the AOS Pain and Difficulty subscores. Expectation and satisfaction with symptoms was assessed using the Musculoskeletal Outcomes Data Evaluation and Management Scale, and physical and emotional quality of life was assessed using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey in terms of the mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS). Swelling and reoperation rates were also compared. AOS Total score was not significantly different between payers. WCB patients had significantly worse preoperative AOS Difficulty scores (73, 95%CI 65–80) compared to MSP (65, CI 63–67) and self-pay patients (56, CI 49–63)(p < 0 .008). Their SF-36 MCS scores were also significantly worse pre- and postoperatively (WCB: 43, CI 38–49, 45, CI 40–50, MSP: 51, CI 50–52, 51, CI 50–52, self-pay: 51, CI 46–56, 54, CI 49–58)(p < 0 .03). AOS Pain scores and SF-36 PCS scores were not different. Pre- and postoperatively, MSP patients reported more satisfaction with symptoms (1.31, CI 1.24–1.38, 3.21, CI 3.07–3.35), compared to WCB (1.13, CI 0.84–1.41, 2.83, CI 2.26–3.41) and self-pay patients (1.19, CI 0.91–1.47, 2.88, CI 2.33–3.44). Preoperatively, WCB patients had the lowest expectations (76, CI 69–84), the worst AOS Total (64, CI 57–71) and SF-36 scores (MCS 43, CI 38–49, PCS 28, CI, 25–32), and the most swelling (3.5, CI 3.1–4). Conversely, self-pay patients had the highest preoperative expectations (88, CI 81–95), the best AOS Total (53, CI 46–60) and SF-36 scores (MCS 51, CI 46–56, PCS: 34, CI 30–37) and the least swelling (3, CI 2.6–3.4). Postoperatively, WCB and self-pay patients had lower expectations met (35, CI 23–47 and 40, CI 28–51) and worse AOS Total scores (36, CI 27–45 and 35, 26–43), compared to MSP patients (Expectations: 29, CI 26–32, AOS Total: 31, CI 29–33). Reoperation rates were similar among groups. WCB patients had significantly more difficulty with symptoms prior to surgery and worse SF-36 MCS scores pre- and postoperatively. The preoperative expectations of WCB patients were lowest, while those of self-pay patients were highest. Both groups had lower expectations met postoperatively.
As an alternative to ankle replacement, ankle arthrodesis remains a mainstay in the treatment of end-stage arthritis. Arthroscopic techniques for ankle arthrodesis have more recently been developed, although there has been limited research exploring the cost of arthroscopic (AAA) versus open ankle arthrodesis (OAA), and comparing ankle fusions to replacement (TAA). We hypothesise that resource use after AAA will be lower than that after OAA, and both will be lower than TAA. We performed a retrospective review of a prospectively collected database. The COFAS database was used to identify patients with >2 years of follow up who have undergone AAA, OAA or Hintegra TAA at St Paul's Hospital between 2003–2010. Ninety patients with TAA, 52 with AAA and 56 with OAA met our inclusion criteria. The following data were documented: patient demographics (age, gender, presence of diabetes, inflammatory arthritis or any smoking history), factors related to the index surgery (type of surgery, OR time, length of stay) and factors relating to the post-operative course (number of post-operative clinic visits, OR time for re-operations, length of stay for additional hospital admissions). In terms of the index surgery, AAA required less initial OR time compared to either OAA or TAA. Initial length of hospital stay was significantly longer for both TAA and OAA, compared to AAA. Patients attended more follow-up visits after TAA or OAA compared to after AAA. In terms of additional OR time required, no significant differences were found among the groups. The most common reason for re-operation was infection or wound breakdown (38% of re-operations), followed by removal of hardware (15%). TAA also required significantly more additional days in hospital compared to either OAA or AAA. For all significant comparisons, p < 0.05. For each primary TAA, on average an additional one hour of surgery, three days in hospital and seven clinic visits were required on top of the cost factored for the primary arthroplasty. For each primary AAA, an additional four clinic visits, 23 minutes of revision surgery and one day in hospital were required. For each primary OAA, an average additional five clinic visits, three minutes of OR time, and 0.2 days of additional hospital stay occurred during follow up. Using several measures of resource use, we find that arthroscopic ankle fusions compare favourably to both ankle replacements and open ankle fusions. We also show that resource utilisation measurements can be a useful surrogate for complications, and that resource utilisation can demonstrate the practical implications of complications for patients, surgeons and health care resources.
Introduction. Comparative studies examining Fixed-Bearing (FB) and Mobile-Bearing (MB) Total Ankle Replacement (TAR) designs have demonstrated similar results and successful long-term outcomes for both. To date there has been no study directly comparing FB and MB designs of the same prosthesis. We present the first prospective randomised trial comparing patient satisfaction, functional outcomes and radiographic results of the Salto Talaris Fixed-Bearing and the Salto Mobile-Bearing Total Ankle Replacement in the treatment of end-stage
Ankle arthrodesis and replacement are the widely accepted options in managing end-stage
Preoperative talar valgus deformity increases the technical difficulty of total ankle replacement (TAR) and is associated with an increased failure rate. Deformity of ≥15° has been reported to be a contraindication to arthroplasty. The goal of the present study was to determine whether the operative procedures and clinical outcomes of TAR for treatment of end-stage
There is limited literature on the effects of socioeconomic factors on outcomes after total ankle arthroplasty (TAA). In the setting of hip or knee arthroplasty, patients of a lower socioeconomic status demonstrate poorer post-operative satisfaction, longer lengths of stay, and larger functional limitations. It is important to ascertain whether this phenomenon is present in
Ankle fractures are common orthopedic injuries, often requiring operative intervention to restore joint stability, improve alignment, and reduce the risk of post-traumatic
Progressive collapsing foot deformity (PCFD) is a common condition with an estimated prevalence of 3.3% in women greater than 40 years. Progressive in nature, symptomatic flatfoot deformity can be a debilitating condition due to pain and limited physical function; it has been shown to have one of the poorest preoperative patient reported outcome scores in foot and ankle pathologies, second to
Introduction. Total Ankle replacement designs continue to evolve, and provide an alternative to ankle arthrodesis for patients with
Purpose. Total Ankle Replacement (TAR) is increasingly being offered to patients as an alternative to arthrodesis for the operative management of debilitating end-stage
Restoration of ankle alignment is thought to be critical in total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) outcomes, but previous research is primarily focused on coronal alignment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sagittal alignment of the talar component. The talar component inclination, measured by the previously-described gamma angle, was hypothesized to be predictive of TAA outcomes. A retrospective review of the Canadian Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (COFAS) database of
Deformity correction has become a more common intervention in an attempt to mitigate pain from an arthritic ankle while hopefully preventing progression of intraarticular disease. Malunion takes the form of angulation, rotation, translation, and length discrepancy, all of which must be measured and addressed by the surgeon. Contact surface area within the ankle joint can decrease up to 40% with angular malalignment, with subsequent increase in contact pressures in the residual joint surface. As the apex of the deformity moves closer to the ankle joint, pressures increase further. There are no rules as to the magnitude of deformity that necessitates correction, but the literature suggests 15 degrees of varus alalignment, 10 degrees of valgus malalignment and 20 mm shift medial to the mechanical axis all should undergo correction. This lecture will explore: assessment of deformity, methods of correction, and literature results on the impact deformity correction has on
Ankle arthrodesis is the gold standard for treatment of end stage
Reoperations may be a better way of tracking adverse outcomes than complications. Repeat surgery causes cost to the system, and often indicate failure of the primary procedure resulting in the patient not achieving the expected improvement in pain and function. Understanding the cause of repeat surgery at the primary site may result in design improvements to implants or improvements to fusion techniques resulting in better outcomes in the future. The COFAS group have designed a reoperation classification system. The purpose of this study was to outline the inter and intra observer reliability of this classification scheme. To verify the inter- and intra-observer reliability of this new coding system, six fellow ship trained practicing foot and ankle Orthopaedic surgeons were asked to classify 62 repeat surgeries from a single surgeons practice. The six surgeons read the operation reports in random order, and reread the reports 2 weeks later in a different order. Reliability was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and proportions of agreement. The agreement between pairs of readings (915 for inter observer for the first and second read – 61 readings with 15 comparisons, observer 1 with observer 2, observer 1 with observer 3, etc) was determined by seeing how often each observer agreed. This was repeated for the 366 ratings for intra observer readings (61 times 6). The inter-observer reliability on the first read had a mean intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.89. The range for the 15 comparisons was 0.81 to 1.0. Amongst all 1830 paired codings between two observers, 1605 (88%) were in agreement. Across the 61 cases, 45 (74%) were given the same code by all six observers. However, the difference when present was larger with more observers not agreeing. The inter-observer reliability test on the second read had a mean ICC of 0.94, with a range of 0.90. There were 43 (72%) observations that were the same across all six observers. Of all pairs (915 in total) there was agreement in 804 pairs for the first reading (88%) and disagreement in 111 (12%). For the second reading there was agreement in 801 pairs (86%) and disagreement in 114 (14%). The intra-observer reliability averaged an ICC value of 0.92, with a range of 0.86 to 0.98. The observers agreed with their own previous observations 324 times out of 366 paired readings (89% agreement of pairs). The COFAS classification of reoperations for end stage
Reoperations may be a better way of tracking adverse outcomes than complications. Repeat surgery causes cost to the system, and often indicate failure of the primary procedure resulting in the patient not achieving the expected improvement in pain and function. Understanding the cause of repeat surgery at the primary site may result in design improvements to implants or improvements to fusion techniques resulting in better outcomes in the future. The COFAS group have designed a reoperation classification system. The purpose of this study was to outline the inter and intra observer reliability of this classification scheme. To verify the inter- and intra-observer reliability of this new coding system, six fellow ship trained practicing foot and ankle Orthopaedic surgeons were asked to classify 62 repeat surgeries from a single surgeons practice. The six surgeons read the operation reports in random order, and reread the reports 2 weeks later in a different order. Reliability was determined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and proportions of agreement. The agreement between pairs of readings (915 for inter observer for the first and second read – 61 readings with 15 comparisons, observer 1 with observer 2, observer 1 with observer 3, etc) was determined by seeing how often each observer agreed. This was repeated for the 366 ratings for intra observer readings (61 times 6). The inter-observer reliability on the first read had a mean intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.89. The range for the 15 comparisons was 0.81 to 1.0. Amongst all 1830 paired codings between two observers, 1605 (88%) were in agreement. Across the 61 cases, 45 (74%) were given the same code by all six observers. However, the difference when present was larger with more observers not agreeing. The inter-observer reliability test on the second read had a mean ICC of 0.94, with a range of 0.90. There were 43 (72%) observations that were the same across all six observers. Of all pairs (915 in total) there was agreement in 804 pairs for the first reading (88%) and disagreement in 111 (12%). For the second reading there was agreement in 801 pairs (86%) and disagreement in 114 (14%). The intra-observer reliability averaged an ICC value of 0.92, with a range of 0.86 to 0.98. The observers agreed with their own previous observations 324 times out of 366 paired readings (89% agreement of pairs). The COFAS classification of reoperations for end stage
Background. Ankle arthroplasty is increasingly used to reduce pain and improve or maintain joint mobility in end-stage
Introduction. The incidence of osteochondral lesions following ankle fractures varies in the literature between 17-70%. They are commonly associated with chronic pain and swelling in patients diagnosed with such pathology. There is less evidence about the relationship between OCL and the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis, the most common type of