Patient-Reported Outcomes of Surgically Treated Lisfranc Injuries with Isolated Longitudinal Instability
Authors: Urdahl Torben H. , Dock Carissa , McGaver Rebecca Stone , Seiffert Kayla , Coetzee J. Chris C. 
Published: December 2023

Category:

Midfoot/Forefoot; Other

Introduction/Purpose:

A longitudinal Lisfranc variant injury occurs from a longitudinal force on the midfoot directed through the first ray and medial cuneiform. This is unique in that other Lisfranc injury patterns typically result from an axial-directed force or a rotational force that externally rotates the midfoot. More common Lisfranc injury patterns can have instability longitudinally, but usually it is accompanied by coronal instability and even axial instability. To date, there has been no study with a cohort of Lisfranc injuries with isolated longitudinal instability. The purpose of this study was to report patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for those undergoing surgical treatment for longitudinal Lisfranc injuries.

Methods:

Retrospective chart review was completed to identify patients with surgically treated longitudinal Lisfranc injuries by a single surgeon between April 2018 and February 2022. Intraoperative fluoroscopy was used to confirm Lisfranc injuries positive for only longitudinal instability and negative for coronal and axial instability. Surgical technique consisted of open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) with a compression screw from the medial to middle cuneiform and a “homerun” compression screw from the medial cuneiform to the base of the second metatarsal. PROMs, collected preoperatively and postoperatively, included the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM), Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12), and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scale. Patient satisfaction was assessed through a survey consisting of a 0-100 rating scale with “least satisfied” being 0 and “most satisfied” being 100. Statistical analyses to determine significance were completed through sample t-tests assuming unequal variance with significance set at P<.05.

Results:

Fourteen patients (14 feet) with an average age of 25.2±15.7 years sustained longitudinal Lisfranc injuries. Eleven of 14 patients competed in competitive sports when injured with football (n=5) being the most prevalent sport. Eleven patients underwent hardware removal an average of 3.6 months following their primary surgery. There were three cases of broken hardware, and one revision in which ORIF was converted to fusion. The average latest follow-up time for PROMs were 25.9 (range, 12-44) months. Results demonstrate a significant improvement in FAAM Total, FAAM ADL, and FAAM Sports scores at latest follow-up (Figure 1). There was also improvement in VR-12 Mental, VR-12 Physical, and VAS scores, though not statistically significant. Mean patient satisfaction at latest follow-up was 99/100.

Conclusion:

This study is the first to present data from a cohort of isolated longitudinal Lisfranc injuries. There is significant debate about surgical management of Lisfranc injuries. The improvement in PROMs at latest follow-up and high patient satisfaction suggests that ORIF may be an optimal surgical approach for management of longitudinal Lisfranc injuries.