A comparison of resultant subtalar joint pathology with functional results in two groups of clubfoot patients treated with two different protocols.

Abstract

Two series of patients with congenital clubfoot treated by different manipulation techniques and by different complementary soft tissue release operations were evaluated at the end of skeletal growth. The severity of the deformity was graded at diagnosis, and the functional results were graded at follow-up with a functional rating system. Computed tomography scans of the subtalar joint were also obtained at follow-up for each patient in order to evaluate the joint morphology. A linear regression model was constructed to study the statistical correlation between the rating score of the treated clubfeet and the shape of the subtalar joint. A statistically significant correlation was found between the clubfeet rating score and the subtalar joint morphology. However, the rating score values of the second series were consistently higher than those of the first series when compared with the same morphological category of the subtalar joint.