Scarf-Akin osteotomy for hallux valgus in juvenile and adolescent patients

Hallux valgus (HV) has been reported to affect 22-36% of adolescents, with a recurrence rate of around 30-40%. Operative treatment may be indicated in symptomatic deformities where conservative management has failed to halt progression of the deformity. There remains genuine concern with respect to high complication rates including recurrence and stiffness of the metatarsophalangeal joint following operative treatment in adolescents. We report the clinical, functional and radiological outcomes of the Scarf-Akin procedure in the treatment of juvenile and adolescent HV. A review of single surgeon series was carried out of all children who underwent Scarf and Akin osteotomies as a combined procedure for HV between February 2001 and 2010. The preoperative and postoperative intermetatarsal angle (IMA1-2), hallux valgus angle, distal metatarsal articular angle and ratio of the length of first metatarsal to that of the second metatarsal were determined. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Score was used for functional assessment. Twenty-nine patients (47 feet) underwent Scarf-Akin osteotomies for moderate to severe HV. The average age of the patients at surgery was 11.7 years. The 6-week postoperative radiographs confirmed a significant improvement in the IMA, hallux valgus angle and distal metatarsal articular angle, in all the 47 feet, but 10 patients (14 feet, 29.8%) reported recurrence of hallux valgus at subsequent reviews. The radiological recurrence rate in our series was 29.8%, with 21.3% of patients symptomatic enough to require a revision operation. We report a high recurrence rate in hallux valgus operation in children and hence recommend postponement of correction until skeletal maturity.