Surgical Treatment In Congenital Clubfoot: A Comparison Of Posteromedial And Complete Subtalar Release

Abstract

Posteromedial release (PMR) and complete subtalar release (CSTR) are the two most commonly used surgical procedures in treatment of congenital clubfoot. In this study the results of PMR and CSTR were investigated and the success rates of the two techniques were compared. Surgical treatment was performed in 76 feet of 54 patients with a diagnosis of congenital clubfoot. In 44 feet PMR procedure was performed according to the description given by Turco and in 32 feet the chosen surgical technique was CSTR. The mean age of the patients during surgery was 9.75 months, the mean follow up was 31 months in PMR group and the mean age of the patients during surgery was 14.6 months, the mean follow up was 22 months in CSTR group. The patients were evaluated according to the clinical and radiological criteria of Simons. The postoperative improvement was found satisfactory in 72.7% of the PMR group and in 81.2% of the CSTR group. Although slightly better results were obtained with CSTR compared to PMR, the difference was not at a statistically significant level. It was concluded that both procedures were safe and effective in surgical treatment of congenital clubfoot.