[Arthroscopic treatment through Tang's approach in the treatment of posterior talus impingement syndrome]

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the efficacy of arthroscopic posterior ankle debridement through Tang's approach for the treatment of impingement of posterior tubercle of the talus. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 64 patients (35 males and 29 females) with posterior tubercle impingement of the talus who underwent surgical treatment from September 2011 to May 2019 in First Affiliated Hospital of Military Medical University of the Army. The disease occurred in left foot in 31 cases and in right foot in 33 cases, with an age ranged from 15 to 65 years ((36±7) years). All patients underwent arthroscopic debridement of the posterior tubercle of the talus through Tang's approach, in which the patients were placed in the lateral decubitus position, and the arthroscopic access was constructed via the lateral malleolus apex approach and the posterolateral Achilles tendon approach. All patients were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively with the American Association of Ankle Surgeries (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score and visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, as well as imaging, and the data were compared before and after the operation. Results: All patients were followed-up effectively for (15.6±4.2) months. The preoperative AOFAS ankle-hind foot function score was (84±11) points, and it was (92±9) points at the last follow-up (P<0.05); the VAS score for preoperative pain was (4.5±3.0) points and it was (1.0±0.3) points at the last follow-up (P<0.05). The distance from the preoperative posterior tubercle of the talus to the perpendicular to the tangent line in the imaging evaluation was (4.0±2.0) mm, the vertical distance between the posterior edge of calcaneal joint surface and tangent line was (-8.4±4.2) mm, and the average vertical distance between posterior tubercle of talus and tangent line was (-7.9±4.6) mm after operation, the exposed distance from the lower joint was (-2.1±3.0) mm after operation. Conclusions: Arthroscopic debridement of the posterior tubercle of talus through Tang's approach can effectively alleviate the symptoms caused by the posterior tubercle of talus. Tang's approach has the advantages of avoiding repeated position change and disinfection, and reducing the possibility of infection.