Abstract
Category:
Diabetes
Introduction/Purpose:
The most common cause of Charcot Neuroarthropathy is diabetes. The incidence of diabetes continues to rise globally, with a significant socio-economic burden to both patient and society. Despite good total contact casting techniques, deformity and subsequent ulceration still occurs in this patient group. This make shoe-fitting challenging and the risk of subsequent ulceration increases. This in-turn increases the patients risk of amputation and mortality at five years. Conservative treatment is often protracted, with multiple clinic visits. The has a significant impact on the patients ability to work and quality of life. Open surgery carries a significant risk of poor wound healing and infection again with risk of ulceration. NEMISIS for mid-foot Charcot provides surgeons with a surgical technique for osteotomy, that protects the soft tissues.
Methods:
The surgical technique utilises Minimally Invasive Shanon and Wedge burrs to perform a biplanar closing wedge osteotomy to achieve a triplanar correction. This takes the tension off the soft tissues which ensures that there is still good tissue cover, without compromising the blood supply to the skin, therefore in theory reducing the risk of infection. Stabilisation is achieved with screws, beams and bolts, +/-medial column plating. Patients are immobilised in a Bholer walker for a period of 3 months post-op. The short to medium term results (3months to 3 years) are presented. Patients are followed up to asses for re-ulceration at the same site, different site, failure of metalwork, return to surgery.
Results:
16 patients were followed-up. 14 were diabetics. 4 patients developed deep-seated infection, which required removal of the metal-work. 2 of these patients did not have recurrence of their deformity and progressed to orthotic foot-wear. 1 patient had recurrence of deformity with wound breakdown and is awaiting further surgery. 1 patient had removal of metalwork from midfoot and subsequently developed hind-foot deformity which was stabilised with a hind-foot fusion nail. 1 patient broke the medial beam and bolts and required revision surgery. 2 patients had recurrence of plantar exostosis which was managed with minimally invasive exostectomy. 1 patient had early stabilisation of mid-foot and had subsequent Charcot of the talus, managed conservatively. The remaining patients have not required revision surgery. There have been not amputations.
Conclusion:
NEMISIS Minimally Invasive Surgery for Mid-Foot Charcot is a promising surgical technique which may help to reduce infection rates and subsequent amputations. The technique is relatively straightforward to teach, but is currently limited by the size of the burrs.
The technique however can be coupled with innovation in biologics to aid the surgeon further in trying to achieve a stable plantigrade foot that does not have recurrence of ulceration and deformity.