Radiographic Recurrence of Hallux Valgus Based on Osteotomy Location
Authors: Federer Andrew , Dekker Travis , Tainter David , Liles Jordan , Easley Mark , Adams Samuel 
Published: September 2018

Category: Bunion Introduction/Purpose: Hallux valgus (HV) is one of the most common deformities of the foot resulting in pain and lifestyle modification of the patient. Recurrence rates of 10-47% have been documented in single individual osteotomy series. Unfortunately, surgical correction and recurrence are often defined as changes related to normal radiographs and not actually as the magnitude of correction lost with follow-up. Currently there have not been studies evaluating the percentage of recurrence of intermetatarsal angle (IMA) and hallux valgus angle (HVA). As there is substantial difference in starting IMA and HVA, as well as amount of surgical correction, our goal was to evaluate the percentage loss of correction over time comparing preoperative, initial postoperative and minimum of 2-year follow up radiographs among three different surgical correction techniques. Methods: This is a retrospective chart review study that examines the weight-bearing radiographic measurements of patients undergoing hallux valgus corrective surgery at a single institution over 5 years. Fifty-three patients were divided into first tarsometatarsal arthrodesis (i.e. Lapidus), mid-diaphyseal osteotomies (i.e. scarf), and distal metatarsal osteotomies (i.e. chevron). The preoperative, initial postoperative, and final follow up weight-bearing radiographs were measured for intermetatarsal angle (IMA) and hallux valgus angle (HVA). Primary outcome was percentage of recurrence of IMA and HVA, with the difference in angles between preoperative and initial postoperative weight-bearing films being considered 100% correction. The percentage of recurrence between initial postoperative and most recent follow up was then calculated (Figure 1A). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and post-hoc Tukey-Kramer tests were used to compare preoperative IMA and HVA and percentage recurrence of IMA and HVA at most recent follow up. Results: There was no significant difference between Lapidus (14.3deg) and mid-diaphyseal osteotomies (12.7deg) in preoperative IMA (p-value=0.26). There was a significant difference between Lapidus (-0.3deg) and mid-diaphyseal (2.8deg) osteotomies for degree of hallux valgus recurrence as measured by IMA between initial postoperative films and final 2-year follow up (p-value=0.009). Lapidus procedure showed a greater magnitude decrease in IMA degrees from preoperation to final follow up compared to distal osteotomy (p-value=0.037) and trended toward significance compared to mid-diaphyseal (p-value=0.056). Mid-diaphyseal osteotomies (30%) showed a statistically significant higher percentage of IMA recurrence compared to Lapidus (-11%) (p-value=0.0014) (Figure 1B). When comparing percentage recurrence of HVA, distal osteotomies had a significantly smaller rate of recurrence when compared to the diaphyseal osteotomies (p-value=0.030). Conclusion: Though Lapidus and mid-diaphyseal osteotomies were performed for patients with a similar preoperative IMA, mid-diaphyseal osteotomies had a significantly higher percentage of recurrence at 2-year follow up compared to Lapidus procedures. Moreover, Lapidus procedures trended toward greater overall of IMA correction compared to mid-diaphyseal osteotomies. When either a Lapidus or mid-diaphyseal osteotomy is indicated, a Lapidus procedure may result in decreased rate of radiographic recurrence of hallux valgus at 2 years.