ABSTRACT
Lateral release is often an integral step in surgical correction of hallux valgus
and can be performed using open or minimally invasive techniques. We investigated
whether these techniques cause iatrogenic damage to arteries, nerves, tendons, or
joint capsules. In this cadaver study, lateral release was performed on 9 pairs of
specimens by a specialized foot surgeon. The specimens were randomly assigned to each
group. The operations were followed by anatomical preparation, data collection, photo
documentation, and statistical analysis. Iatrogenic damage to arteries, nerves, tendons,
or joint capsules was rare, regardless of the surgical technique used. However, with
the minimally invasive technique, the tendon of the extensor hallucis longus muscle
and the sensitive terminal branches of the fibular nerve were at risk due to their
anatomical proximity to the access portal. The deep transverse metatarsal ligament
was potentially at risk if the adductor hallucis muscle was completely detached from
the lateral sesamoid. When the deep transverse metatarsal ligament was transected
there was risk of damaging the underlying plantar neurovascular structures. Both surgical
techniques are safe in terms of the risk of injury to neighboring neurovascular and
soft tissue structures.
Level of Clinical Evidence
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: July 22, 2021
Footnotes
Financial Disclosure: The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Conflict of interest: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Conflict of Interest (CoI) forms for all authors are available online.
Copyright Transfer Statement: Forms for all authors are available online.
Compliance With Ethical Standards: The study has been approved by the local ethics committee of the Medical Faculty at the University of Jena, Germany, and was performed in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and the German Data Protection Act. Written informed consent for scientific investigations was given by all donors during their life time at the Institute of Anatomy, University Hospital Jena (Germany).
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