Abstract
It has been proposed that patients with talocalcaneal and talonavicular coalitions
have decreased ankle joint range of motion. It has also been reported that rotational
forces regularly absorbed by the talocalcaneal joint are transferred to the ankle
joint in patients with coalitions, increasing the stress on the ankle joint after
trauma. To the best of our knowledge, only 1 reported study has detailed the increased
stress placed on the ankle joint secondary to a coalition. We present a case study
of a 53-year-old female who experienced a traumatic fall and subsequent right ankle
fracture. Advanced imaging studies revealed a comminuted tibial pilon fracture and
talocalcaneal and talonavicular joint coalitions. She underwent open reduction and
internal fixation for treatment of the fracture, and the coalitions were not treated
because they were asymptomatic. She was kept non-weightbearing for 6 weeks postoperatively
and was returned to a regular sneaker at 10 weeks postoperatively. The postoperative
films revealed stable intact fixation and pain-free gait with no increased restriction
in her ankle joint range of motion. The hardware was removed at 13 months postoperatively.
She had not experienced increased pain or arthritic changes at 15 months postoperatively.
Level of Clinical Evidence
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 17, 2017
Footnotes
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
Conflict of Interest: None reported.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 by the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. All rights reserved.
