Acute Achilles tendon rupture is a frequent injury during sports and recreational activities. Treatments for Achilles tendon rupture have been controversial in recent decades. Traditionally the surgical treatment had benefit over nonsurgical treatment in terms of low rerupture rate and early functional restoration. Recently, nonsurgical treatment was found to show no statistically significant inferiority in re-rupture rate, functional outcome, and calf strength. Whereas, surgical treatment had some complications including adhesion, nerve injury, and infection. Nonsurgical treatment has been increasing due to functional rehabilitation with early weight bearing and restricted early motion. It focuses more attention on the course of caring for patients with deep discussion. There are open repair and minimally invasive repair in terms of surgical treatment. There are various techniques for minimally invasive repair of Achilles tendon, which has some advantages over the open repair. However, the optimal technique for minimally invasive repair has not been established. The number of suture strands is important regardless of suture technique.
Achilles Tendon* ; Humans ; Rehabilitation ; Rupture* ; Sports ; Suture Techniques ; Sutures ; Weight-Bearing

Benign and malignant tumors are found in the foot, although the incidence is low. The most common bone tumor in the foot is osteochondroma, which is thought to develop in bones that form through the process of enchondral ossification. In particularly, osteochondromas in the foot mostly occur in metatarsal bones and phalanges. It is seldom found in talus. It is usually confused with osteophyte or enthesis. We report an osteochondroma case confirmed by roentgenographical and pathological investigation, after removing the masses form bilateral tali of a 19-year-old male patient presented with bilateral ankle joint pain for three years.
Ankle Joint ; Foot ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Metatarsal Bones ; Osteochondroma* ; Osteophyte ; Talus ; Young Adult

Management of postoperative tarsal tunnel syndrome is a perplexing problem to the surgeons. Autogenous vein wrapping graft is a effective method to decompress the tarsal tunnel. We treated 2 cases of postoperative tarsal tunnel syndrome with autogenous saphenous vein wrapping graft technique, and could get good results. Autogenous vein wrapping graft seems to be a good technique for tarsal tunnel syndrome with severe adhesion, particularly after surgery, and postoperative nerve adhesion can be prevented.
Saphenous Vein ; Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome* ; Transplants* ; Veins*

Open calcaneal fractures are potentially devastating hindfoot injuries, in which the status of soft tissue envelope is very important. The reversed adipofascial flap has a merit of simplicity and minimal complication compared to free tissue transfer. We report of a case of open calcaneal fracture with soft tissue defect of hindfoot, which was successfully treated with reversed adipofascial flap.

Occasionally, extensor hallucis longus tendon (EHL) ruptures becames open by laceration and spontaneous rupture of EHL that has previous story of diabetes mellitus, steroid injection, systemic steroid administration, operation and rheumatoid arthritis. But, closed traumatic EHL ruptures are reported rarely. Especially, we diagnosed the closed EHL ruptures in TaeKwonDo players. We reported the 2 patients, differently treated end to end anastomosis and EHL transfer, had the course and treatment methods. Be care the prognosis can be altered according to the treatment time and method.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Lacerations ; Prognosis ; Rupture* ; Rupture, Spontaneous ; Tendon Transfer ; Tendons*

Gout in the sesamoid of the great toe is very rare, such that to our best knowledge, there have been only four reports internationally. We present a case of hallucal medial sesamoid gout in the respect of the literature review, clinical, pathological features and surgical outcome.
Gout* ; Toes

PURPOSE: Ankle fusion that is operated on severe ankle arthritis has its weakness in that normal walking is impossible, even though the result is pretty good. As a alternative choice, total ankle replacement pursues the longer survivorship with material improvement. However, it is not yet known how much range of motion is possible after the replacement, or how it has changed overtime. Therefore, we need an analyzation for that. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of sixty-seven patients undergoing STAR total ankle replacement at our institution between 1998 and 2002 was conducted. Of those, twenty-six (39%) had complete sets of full dorsiflexion and plantar flexion lateral radiographs both between "immediate" postop and at a minimum of 2-years follow-up and no revision procedure during that time. The mean age of these patients was 63.2 years when the surgery was done; the etiology of arthrosis was 21(81%) post-traumatic/degenerative, 4 rheumatoid and 1 psoriatic. RESULTS: Average "immediate" ankle range of motion was 15.9 degrees, and total foot (non-ankle) motion was 20.6 degrees. At one, two, and three years the average ankle and total foot ranges of motion were 17.4 degrees, 17.6 degrees, 15.6 degrees and 21.0 degrees, 22.0 degrees, 21.2 degrees respectively. Statistically there was no significant difference between "immediate" postop motion and one to three years postop (all p>0.05). CONCLUSION: The range of motion after the STAR total ankle replacement is maintained from the "immediate" postoperative range of motion, but not increased, in the 1-3 year post replacement period.
Ankle ; Arthritis ; Arthroplasty ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Ankle* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Humans ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Walking

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect on clinical course of heterotopic ossification of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis after ankle fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From June 2001 to May 2004, we found nine cases of heterotopic ossification of distal tibiofibular syndesmosis after ankle fractures. There were 8 male patients and 1 female patient; their mean age was 42 years old. There were 6 Weber type B and 2 Weber type C fractures, and there is 1 case with posterior malleolus fracture only. Among them, 8 ankle fractures were operated. Follow up period was averaged for 14 months. We were able to review radiographs at initial injury and to review clinical menifestation and radiographs at last follow up. We used an ankle-hindfoot scoring system of AOFAS which combined symptom, function and alignment with maximum score of 100 point. RESULTS: In all cases ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion were not significantly different from that of the contralateral side. The patients who had developed heterotopic ossification in distal tibiofibular syndesmosis had a similar functional score. The mean ankle-hind foot score was 94 points. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the heterotopic ossification of distal tibiafibular syndesmosis after ankle fractures had little effect on clinical course and range of motion of ankle joint.
Adult ; Ankle Fractures* ; Ankle Joint* ; Ankle* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Humans ; Male ; Ossification, Heterotopic* ; Range of Motion, Articular

PURPOSE: To review the results of surgical decompression for tarsal tunnel syndrome associated with calcaneus fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six tarsal tunnel syndromes in five patients were surgically decompressed at our hospital with followed up of average 26.0 months (range, 12~36 months). All patients were male and average age at surgery was 50.0 years (range, 33~69 years). All five cases developed after calcaneus fractures including one bilateral case. Clinical results were assessed according to the criteria of Pfeiffer and Cracchiolo. RESULTS: The result was good in three cases, fair in one case and poor in two cases. Four cases in four patients were satisfied with the result of treatment. CONCLUSION: Clinical results of surgical treatment for tarsal tunnel syndrome associated with calcaneus fracture of the foot or ankle was improved and maintained in four of six cases.
Ankle ; Calcaneus* ; Decompression ; Decompression, Surgical ; Foot ; Humans ; Male ; Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome*

PURPOSE: To compare ultrasonographic size of morton's neuroma measured to actual size MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two (twenty-eight patients) of symptomic Morton's neuroma were measured by ultrasonography preoperatively and by manual method that designed by authors intraoperatively from January, 2002 to May, 2003. Two results were stastically compared by paired T-test RESULTS: Except one, all of cases were women and the mean age of patients was 50.6 years (32-62 years). The most common associated disease was hallux valgus deformity (17 cases). Six of Morton's neuromas located on second intermetatarsal space, sixteen of them did third intemetatarsal space and ten of neuromas located simultaneously second and third intermetatarsal space. The ultrasonographic size of neuroma averaged 3.48 mm and real size was 3.99 mm. The size checked by manual method was larger than by ultrasound with statical meaning CONCLUSION: The size of Morton's interdigital neuroma checked by ultrasonography on plantar aspect is smaller than real size. If you checked Morton's interdigital neuroma size by ultrasonography, you can suspect that real size of Morton's interdigital neuroma is larger than that size.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Hallux Valgus ; Humans ; Neuroma* ; Ultrasonography