title: Medicolegal aspects of foot and ankle surgery.
abstract: Medicolegal aspects of orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery, including issues of standard of care, complications, and discrepancies between patient and physician expectations, generally are similar to those encountered in other orthopaedic subspecialties. However, there are some unique aspects involving foot and ankle surgery: the standard of care continues to evolve, some complications are specific to the foot and ankle, and patient expectations of particular foot and ankle procedures may exceed those of the foot and ankle surgeon, who often is confronted with challenging pathologic conditions. This review addresses issues of standard of care and complications as they pertain to current practices of orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery.
authors.affiliation: Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Box 2950, Durham, NC 27710, USA. easle004@mc.duke.edu
authors.forename: Mark Erik
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Easley
mesh_terms: D016512:Ankle Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D018409:Foot Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007258:Informed Consent; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D016365:Liability, Legal; D008297:Male; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management; D014481:United States