Papers of the Week

Isolated subtalar osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating condition usually occurring after trauma and particularly in the setting of an intraarticular calcaneal fracture. Currently, subtalar (talo-calcaneal joint) fusion surgery is the treatment of choice in managing subtalar OA after failure of conservative treatment. Unfortunately, subtalar fusion eliminates joint motion and increases the load over the adjacent midfoot and ankle joints, which affects the outcome of the surgery over time. Popular in the ankle, distraction arthroplasty offers another joint-preserving option, particularly important for active patients. In contrast to fusion as a salvage procedure, subtalar distraction arthroplasty allows the possibility of maintaining the function of the arthritic subtalar joint while reducing pain and improving the overall function of the foot and ankle.