Clinical Outcomes and Surgical Satisfaction Following a Lateral Transfibular Total Ankle Arthroplasty: Early Follow-up Results from A Canadian Cohort
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Abstract
Background: The lateral transfibular total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is a novel surgical technique used for treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate perioperative clinical outcomes, surgical satisfaction and complications undergoing this procedure. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 25 patients undergoing a TAA via the lateral transfibular approach. Clinical data collection was performed preoperatively and postoperatively at 3 and 12 months using the AOFAS, the SF-36 and the VAS for pain. Surgical satisfaction was evaluated using a modified version of the 8-item Surgical Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ-8). Results: Overall AOFAS scores increased from 30.32 preoperatively to 85.32 (p<.001) at 3 months and 87.64 (p<.001) at 12 months. Patient SF-36 scores showed statistically significant increases across all domains (pain, physical, emotional, social) preoperatively to 3 and 12 months postoperatively. Additionally, VAS scores increased from 8.0 preoperatively to 1.7 (p<.001) at 3 months and 1.5 (p<.001) at 12 months postoperatively. Twenty-three patients (92.0%) reported that they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the outcome of their procedure, that they would “do it all over again”, and that they would recommend it to other patients with a similar condition. Conclusion: Early results show that the lateral transfibular approach to TAA has good clinical outcomes at 3-month and 12-month follow up, with the greatest improvement measured in the first 3 months. Additionally, the surgery was associated with good patient satisfaction.
