A new method for achieving compression in hindfoot arthrodesis. 2015

Justin Greisberg, and J Turner Vosseller, and Chris Ferry, and Calvin Nash, and Thomas R Gardner
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, 622 West 168th St, PH 11th floor, New York, NY, 10032, USA. jkg2101@columbia.edu.

BACKGROUND When performing hindfoot arthodeses, one goal of fixation is often to achieve compression across the joint. Traditional lag screws are applied eccentrically, providing compression more on the edge of the fusion. A new technique, using a post in one bone and a lag screw through the post to the other bone, may offer better compression across more of the joint. METHODS There are three parts to this study comparing a post-and-screw construct to traditional lag screws. Synthetic bone models, representative of the talonavicular joint, were created and assessed for biomechanical measures of compression. Next, the post-and-screw construct was tested in cadavers, under conditions representing early weight bearing after arthrodesis surgery. Finally, 18 patients who had a talonavicular fusion with a post-and-screw construct with one surgeon were compared to the previous 18 patients fixed with traditional screws. RESULTS In the synthetic bone model, the post-and-screw construct brought the centre of compression closer to the centre of the joint, suggesting compression was less eccentric. Neither traditional screws nor the post-and-screw construct were sufficiently strong to resist early weight bearing forces in cadaver specimens. In the clinical comparison, four patients had a painful nonunion when fixed with traditional screws, compared to none in the post-and-screw construct. CONCLUSIONS A post-and-screw construct spreads the forces of compression more uniformly across an arthrodesis, even when placed eccentrically. Although not all the biomechanical measures were superior, the post-and-screw construct achieved higher levels of successful fusion in patients. This technology may offer improved outcomes in some clinical scenarios and deserves further study. METHODS Level 3.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D008953 Models, Anatomic Three-dimensional representation to show anatomic structures. Models may be used in place of intact animals or organisms for teaching, practice, and study. Anatomic Models,Models, Surgical,Moulages,Models, Anatomical,Anatomic Model,Anatomical Model,Anatomical Models,Model, Anatomic,Model, Anatomical,Model, Surgical,Moulage,Surgical Model,Surgical Models
D011312 Pressure A type of stress exerted uniformly in all directions. Its measure is the force exerted per unit area. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed) Pressures
D001858 Bone Nails Rods of bone, metal, or other material used for fixation of the fragments or ends of fractured bones. Bone Pins,Bone Nail,Bone Pin,Nail, Bone,Nails, Bone,Pin, Bone,Pins, Bone
D001863 Bone Screws Specialized devices used in ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY to repair bone fractures. Bone Screw,Screw, Bone,Screws, Bone
D002102 Cadaver A dead body, usually a human body. Corpse,Cadavers,Corpses
D005260 Female Females
D005528 Foot The distal extremity of the leg in vertebrates, consisting of the tarsus (ANKLE); METATARSUS; phalanges; and the soft tissues surrounding these bones. Feet
D005534 Foot Diseases Anatomical and functional disorders affecting the foot. Foot Disease

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