title: Effects of total ankle arthroplasty training course on physician practice patterns and complication rates.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this retrospective survey study was to determine the short-term effects of the AAOS/AOFAS total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) training course on participant practice patterns, implant preferences, and complication rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous digital survey was administered via email to all 2012 and 2013 participants. Data regarding industry courses attended, implant system preferences, surgical indications, case volume, patient age, complication rates, and overall perceptions of TAA in the three months before and after the course were collected and analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 87 participants contacted, 43 (49%) completed the entire survey. STAR (Small Bone Innovations, Inc., Morrisville, PA) was the most preferred implant before the course with 15 individuals listing it as top preference. A large percentage of participants (67%) changed implant preferences after the course. Of the 29 participants who changed preferences, 48% switched to INBONE II (Wright Medical, Arlington, TN) and 24% to STAR. Average number of TAAs performed in the 3 months before the course was 1.3 and increased significantly in the following 3 months to 2.1. Total number of reported intraoperative complications decreased from 12 before the course to 6 after, the most common being malleolar fractures. Overall, 84% of participants indicated that the course positively changed their use and perceptions of TAA and current implant systems.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The main finding of this study was that the AAOS/AOFAS TAA training course changed implant system preferences, surgical indications, number of cases performed, and complication rates among participants in the short-term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois (ARH).
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: J Chris
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Coetzee
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Haddad
authors.forename: Gregory C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Berlet
mesh_terms: D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D019643:Arthroplasty, Replacement / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000193:education*; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: ankle arthroplasty; implant preferences; learning, education; replacement