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Open versus arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis in high-risk patients: a comparative study

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A Correction to this article was published on 19 January 2022

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Abstract

Purpose

Arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis is known to offer high fusion rates, improvements in pain and functional outcomes, low risks of complications, and reinterventions. The aim of this study is to compare open vs. arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis in patients at high risk of complications.

Methods

A single-centre retrospective comparative analysis of ankle fusions was conducted. Patient records were screened for demographics, type of arthrodesis, follow-up length, pre-operative diagnosis, risk factors for non-union, operative time, radiographic union, time to union, complications, and reinterventions. The American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hindfoot Scale, the Italian version of the Foot Function Index (FFI), and a visual analog scale (VAS) for pain scores collected pre-operatively and in the last follow-up were used to assess clinical outcomes.

Results

There were 23 open and 21 arthroscopic ankle fusions. Union rate was higher (90.5% vs. 65.2%, p < 0.05) and complication rate was lower (14.3% vs. 47.8%, p < 0.05) in the arthroscopic group. In addition, patients who underwent arthroscopic arthrodesis reported better pain control, with higher improvements in VAS for pain scores. There was no significant difference in length of operative time, time to fusion, AOFAS, and FFI scores improvements between the two groups.

Conclusions

Arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis resulted in higher union rates, fewer complications, and lower reoperation rates in patients at high risk of complications.

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Data availability

All data and materials will be furnished upon reasonable request.

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Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRCCS Galeazzi, Via R. Galeazzi 4, 20100, Milan, Italy

    Nicolò Martinelli, Alberto Bianchi & Valerio Sansone

  2. Hospital de Urgencia Asistencia Pública, Santiago, Chile

    Giorgio Raggi

  3. Department of Orthopedics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Matteo Maria Parrini, Vincenzo Cerbone & Valerio Sansone

Authors
  1. Nicolò Martinelli
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  2. Alberto Bianchi
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  3. Giorgio Raggi
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  4. Matteo Maria Parrini
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  5. Vincenzo Cerbone
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  6. Valerio Sansone
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Contributions

NM and AB performed surgery and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. GR and VC performed data collection, and analysis. MMP and VS contributed to the study design and conception, and revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolò Martinelli.

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Ethical approval

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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The original version of this article was revised. The correct copyright should be "The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.

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Martinelli, N., Bianchi, A., Raggi, G. et al. Open versus arthroscopic ankle arthrodesis in high-risk patients: a comparative study. International Orthopaedics (SICOT) 46, 515–521 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-021-05233-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-021-05233-9

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