In our unit, we adopt a two-stage surgical reconstruction approach using internal fixation for the management of infected Charcot foot deformity. We evaluate our experience with this functional limb salvage method. We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of all patients with infected Charcot foot deformity who underwent two-stage reconstruction with internal fixation between July 2011 and November 2019, with a minimum of 12 months’ follow-up.Aims
Methods
Limb salvage for diabetic foot infections often require multiple
procedures. Some patients will eventually end up with below knee
amputation (BKA) when all limb salvage attempts fail. We seek to
study the patients’ ability to return to normal life, functional
status, prosthesis usage and perspectives on multiple limb salvage
procedures that culminated in BKA to review if they would undertake
a similar path if their situation was repeated. A total of 41 patients who underwent BKA between July 2011 and
June 2013 were reviewed. They were divided into primary and creeping
(prior multiple salvage procedures) amputations. The Barthel’s Index
(BI) and the Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI) were used.
A questionnaire was used to identify whether the patient would undergo
the same multiple attempts at limb salvage again if faced with the
same problem.Aims
Patients and Methods
We studied a cohort of 26 diabetic patients with chronic ulceration under the first metatarsal head treated by a modified Jones extensor hallucis longus and a flexor hallucis longus transfer. If the first metatarsal was still plantar flexed following these two transfers, a peroneus longus to the peroneus brevis tendon transfer was also performed. Finally, if ankle dorsiflexion was <
5° with the knee extended, a Strayer-type gastrocnemius recession was performed. The mean duration of chronic ulceration despite a minimum of six months’ conservative care was 16.2 months (6 to 31). A total of 23 of the 26 patients were available for follow-up at a mean of 39.6 months (12 to 61) after surgery. All except one achieved complete ulcer healing at a mean of 4.4 weeks (2 to 8) after surgery, and there was no recurrence of ulceration under the first metatarsal. We believe that tendon balancing using modified Jones extensor hallucis longus and flexor hallucis longus transfers, associated in selected cases with a peroneus longus to brevis transfer and/or Strayer procedure, can promote rapid and sustained healing of chronic diabetic ulcers under the first metatarsal head.
