Ahmet Aslan1, Serdar Sargın2, Anıl Gülcü1, Mehmet Nuri Konya3

1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey
2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Balıkesir University Faculty of Medicine, Balıkesir, Turkey
3Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Afyon Health Science University Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

Keywords: Bohler’s angle, intra-articular calcaneus fracture, patient-reported outcomes, Sanders classification, subtalar arthritis, surgical treatment.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to compare the radiological, clinical and patient-reported outcomes of patients with intra-articular calcaneus fractures treated conservatively or surgically.
Patients and methods: Fifty-four patients (30 males, 24 females; mean age 41.0 years; range, 18 to 73 years) treated due to calcaneus fracture were included in the study. Twenty-nine patients underwent conservative treatment (group 1) and 25 patients underwent surgical treatment (group 2). The fractures were classified according to Sanders. At the final follow-up, patients’ Bohler’s angle, The American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Score and Foot Function Index (FFI) were used to evaluate their radiological, clinical and patient-reported outcomes. Postoperative complications were also noted.
Results: The fracture was at the right foot in 28 patients and the left foot in 26 patients. The mean follow-up duration was 41.1±23.2 months (range, 24 to 126 months). No statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of gender, fracture side, mean age, or follow-up duration (p=0.951, p=0.571, p=0.326, and p=0.620, respectively). According to Sanders classification, 18 patients were type 2 and 11 patients were type 3 in group 1, while 11 patients were type 2 and 14 patients were type 3 in group 2. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of the type of the fracture (p=0.184). On the other hand, the outcomes were significantly better for group 2 compared to group 1 in terms of the Bohler’s angle, AOFAS and FFI scores (p=0.004, p=0.003 and p=0.006, respectively). In group 1, subtalar arthritis developed in three patients. In group 2, wound healing problems and superficial infection developed in three patients, while subtalar arthritis developed in two patients.
Conclusion: Surgical treatment is more effective in intra-articular calcaneus fractures compared to conservative treatment according to clinical, radiological and patient-reported outcomes. In addition, wound problems should be considered in surgical management.