title: Arthrodesis of the ankle for non-inflammatory conditions--healing and reliability of outcome measurements.
abstract: This is a retrospective study of 30 consecutive primary ankle arthrodeses in 29 patients with osteoarthrosis, operated on in our hospital between 1984 and 1994. Two different techniques were utilized: internal fixation with screws or external fixation using Charnley or Hoffman frames. Only 25 ankles in 24 patients were available for clinical examination. They were examined by two independent surgeons on an average of 51 months after surgery (13 to 187 months). Two radiologists separately examined the radiographs that were available--in this case, 29 ankles, without knowledge of clinical data, and 26/29 (89%) were unanimously considered as fused. This is comparable with what is reported in other series. Unanimity among all four observers regarding healing of the arthrodesis occurred in 20/25 ankles (80%). We consider that both a radiological and a clinical evaluation is important for a fair judgement of fusion. We found high consistency among the observers with respect to the clinical scores. However, the consistency was somewhat better for the Mazur than for the Kofoed system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Malmö University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Besjakov
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Verdier
authors.forename: Ake
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D001174:Arthrodesis / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014945:Wound Healing