Tarsal coalition is a congenital malformation of the tarsal bones of the foot that typically presents with features such as pain, recurrent sprains, and flat foot in childhood. In a small number of patients, a delayed presentation may be apparent, with symptoms instead presenting in adulthood. The most commonly accepted hypothesis is that the tarsal coalition becomes more symptomatic as the coalition progressively ossifies. To this date, no author has systematically evaluated the literature to identify the best approach when surgically managing these patients, in particular concerning the resection of the coalition. This study aims to systematically review the literature, searching EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library to identify and evaluate studies that presented an outcome for resection of the adult talocalcaneal coalition. Alongside overall outcomes, details on the extent of the coalition, surgical method, post-operative regimen, and presenting symptoms were extracted for each patient studied. This was conducted in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. With 72 patients, this is the largest evaluation of an adult tarsal coalition population to date. Our findings indicate that talocalcaneal coalition in adulthood presents differently from the classical peroneal spasm found in childhood. Better scores were reported for coalitions either managed with an endoscopic approach or with interposition of the flexor hallucis longus tendon. Despite some reported benefits in the literature, a trial of conservative management or the use of a rehabilitation regimen had a limited impact on the overall patient outcome. Tarsal coalition in adulthood requires rigorous clinical evaluation to identify appropriate management options. Resection of the coalition is a safe approach to definitively managing these patients, but consideration should be given to the surgical method to ensure each patient has the best outcomes. In particular, consideration should be given to using an endoscopic approach or interposition of the flexor hallucis longus tendon in order to achieve the best patient outcomes. However, there remains a paucity of literature evaluating this demographic and further high-impact studies are required to comprehensively evaluate this population.

Calcaneonavicular coalitions in adults can be managed conservatively or through operative means involving resection or arthrodesis of the joints. The aim of this systematic review was to compare complication rates and functional outcomes for the different interventions.PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant studies that reported outcomes for the management of calcaneonavicular coalitions in adults. Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 118 coalitions. Forty-one coalitions were managed conservatively and 71 through operative means of which, 62 included a resection and nine had an arthrodesis performed. Patients who were operated upon had a significantly higher complication rate of 23.4% compared to 10.6% for those who were managed conservatively (p=0.048). There was no significant difference in complication rates among those who had a resection or an arthrodesis. All studies demonstrated an improvement in functional outcomes regardless of intervention used. Conservative management of calcaneonavicular coalitions in adults should continue to be advocated as first-line treatment given the lower complication rates compared to operative means.