Scarf osteotomy is a commonly performed method of hallux valgus correction. Release of deforming lateral soft tissue structures is an integral part of this correction. The aim of this study was to determine if there was any difference in the correction achieved by dorsal and transarticular releases as part of a scarf osteotomy.

This radiological study was performed at a single institution. One surgeon utilised the dorsal first web approach for the distal soft tissue release and one the transarticular approach. There were 23 patients in each group. The same post-operative regime was used on both sets of patients. Data was collected on hallux valgus angle (HVA), intermetatarsal angle (IMA) and AFS sesamoid scoring.

The pre-operative deformity as measured by hallux valgus angle and intermetatarsal angle where similar for both groups (p= 0.25, 0.79 respectively) with a significant difference in severity of AFS scoring in the dorsal group (p < 0.001). Patients who underwent a dorsal approach release had a mean improvement in IMA of 5.46 degrees compared to 3.86 in the transarticular group. The HVA improved by 17.92 degrees in the dorsal group compared to 8.08 in the transarticular group. Both these results were statistically significant (p= < 0.01,< 0.002 respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in number of patients returning to within normal limits of the HVA (p= < 0.05); 18 patients returned to a normal hallux valgus angle after undergoing the dorsal approach compared to 9 patients in the transarticular group.

Our study shows that when performing a distal soft tissue release in conjunction with a scarf osteotomy for correction of hallux valgus, a dorsal first web approach is significantly better at correcting the HVA as compared to a transarticular approach. We would, therefore, recommend the use of a dorsal approach when performing this surgery.