Total contact casting and Keller arthoplasty for diabetic great toe ulceration under the interphalangeal joint

Interphalangeal (IP) ulcerations of the great toe are frequently encountered in neuropathic diabetic feet. While total contact casting is usually effective as a first line treatment, recalcitrant ulcers continue to present substantial management challenges. The authors retrospectively reviewed the results of Keller arthroplasty employed to accelerate ulcer resolution with total contact casting in fourteen patients with neuropathic ulcers under the great toe interphalangeal (IP) joint that were resistant to casting alone. These data were compared to a group of similar patients whose ulcers were successfully treated by non-operative measures. No operative complications were observed, and all ulcers healed within twenty-four days with no recurrence documented at an average follow-up of 26 weeks. In cases of resistant great toe IP plantar ulcers associated with hallux rigidus that have failed casting trials, this treatment method can be effective.