Beaming the Columns for Charcot Diabetic Foot Reconstruction: A Retrospective Analysis

Intramedullary fixation in severe Charcot osteo-neuroarthropathy with foot deformity results in adequate correction without loss of correction – Results from a multi-centre study

“…The first clinical symptoms of CN are a warm, red, and swollen foot [24]. In the advanced, chronic stage, CN affects the bony structure leading to joint dislocations, pathological fractures, and instability of the foot [24][25][26]. This process can be completed within a few weeks or take several months [27].…”

“…To achieve an acceptable case number, three centres were included. There are studies with larger case numbers dealing with this kind of pathology, but these studies did not focus on CN as such, but more on diabetic foot syndrome with ulceration and deformity [3,26]. The missing control group is a typical shortcoming of studies dealing with uncommon pathologies.…”

Indications and Considerations of Foot and Ankle Arthrodesis

“…[28][29][30][31] Patients undergoing triple arthrodesis can develop clinically significant degenerative arthritis of the midfoot and ankle. [32][33][34] Isolated subtalar arthrodesis is a technically less demanding procedure and, due to its joint preservation qualities, is the mainstay of arthrodesis for isolated subtalar joint arthritis.…”

Medial Column Arthrodesis Using an Anatomic Distal Fibular Locking Plate

“…Current data have focused on medial column fusion procedures for peritalar subluxation deformity (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) and Charcot arthropathy (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19); however, the procedure can be performed for any painful arthritic condition or deformity of the medial column (20). Depending on the etiology of the deformity and the radiographic presentation, any combination of medial column arthrodeses can be performed alone or combined with each other for the tarsometatarsal joint, naviculocuneiform joint, and talonavicular joint (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

“…Multiple fixation options have been described for medial column arthrodesis, including screw fixation, intramedullary beaming using a screw or fusion bolt, plate fixation, external fixation, or a combination of these (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20). We describe the use of the VariAx Fibula Locking Plate System (StrykerÒ Orthopaedics, Mahwah, NJ) for fixation in medial column arthrodesis.…”