Smoking places the patient at risk for increased time to union and complications. Previous smoking history also appears to increase the risk of osteomyelitis and increased time to union. The results highlight the need for orthopaedic surgeons to encourage their patients to enter a smoking cessation programs.

No abstract

The results indicate that treatment judgments should be based upon the results derived from the analysis of the larger unilateral limb cohort data. Patients with severe, bilateral lower extremity injuries should be counseled that regardless of treatment combinations, the function of each limb is similar at 24 months. The unilateral amputation/salvage group had a greater probability of going back to work. This is the major identifiable benefit to undergoing salvage versus amputation.

Case: A 48-year-old man presented with foot drop and peroneal nerve paresthesia after a suspected ankle sprain. The patient was taken to the operating room for nerve exploration and anterior and lateral compartment releases. Diagnosis of superficial peroneal nerve (SPN) entrapment was made intraoperatively. Conclusion: Motor deficits in the setting of SPN entrapment may indicate overlapping compartment syndrome or pseudoparalysis from pain inhibition and not neural compression. This adds an increased level of complexity to an already challenging diagnosis to make. Accurate diagnosis and immediate surgical interventionwith proper surgical exposure were all critical for the recovery of this patient.

Conversion of symptomatic ankle arthrodesis to total ankle arthroplasty is becoming more common. Lateral fibula insufficiency has historically been considered a contraindication for arthrodesis takedown and conversion arthroplasty. Studies have described several methods for restoring an adequate lateral buttress but reported mixed results. The authors describe a novel technique tip for a single-procedure conversion of tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis to total ankle arthroplasty in the setting of fibular deficiency. The described technique uses unique templating and bone cuts and can be successfully replicated in these challenging cases.