PTT functional recovery in early stage II PTTD after tendon balancing and calcaneal lengthening osteotomy

The decision to offer surgery for Stage II posterior tibial tendon deficiency (PTTD) is a difficult one since orthotic treatment has been documented to be a viable alternative to surgery at this stage. Taking this into consideration we limited our treatment to bony realignment by a lengthening calcaneus Evans osteotomy and tendon balancing. The goal of the study was to clinically evaluate PTT functional recovery with this procedure.

The patient population included 17 feet in 13 patients. Inclusion was limited to early Stage II PTTD flatfeet with grossly intact but deficient PTT. Deficiency was assessed by the lack of hindfoot inversion during single heel rise test. The surgical procedure included an Evans calcaneal opening wedge osteotomy with triceps surae and peroneus brevis tendon lengthening. PTT function at follow up was evaluated by an independent examiner. Evaluation was performed at an average of 4 (range, 2 to 6.3) years.

One case presented postoperative subtalar pain that required subtalar fusion. Every foot could perform a single heel rise with 13 feet having active inversion of the hindfoot during elevation.

The results of this study provide evidence of PTT functional recovery without augmentation in early Stage II. It challenges our understanding of early Stage II PTTD as well as the surgical guidelines recommending PTT augmentation at this specific stage.