Ceramic Artificial Talus as the Initial Treatment for Comminuted Talar Fractures

Comminuted talar fractures are rare. Generally, this fracture occurs as a result of high-energy injuries. Therefore, this operation is challenging for the surgeon. We started to replace the whole talus with a total talar prosthesis in cases of aseptic talar necrosis in 2005. Based on these results, replacement with a ceramic artificial talus was performed as the initial treatment for comminuted talar fractures.

From 2009 to 2016, a total of 6 feet of 6 patients with comminuted talar dome fractures or talar body defects were replaced with a ceramic artificial talus. The patients' mean age was 40.3 years (range, 19-59). Postoperative assessments were performed in accordance with the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle/hindfoot score system. Postoperative range of motion and sports activities were also evaluated. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 84 (mean, 46.8) months.

The postoperative AOFAS score was on average 78.8 (64-100). The postoperative range of motion was on average 10 degrees (5-20) for dorsiflexion and 31 degrees (15-50) for plantarflexion. Three patients had returned to sport activities.

Prosthetic total talar replacement was a useful procedure for patients with comminuted talar fractures, which had good congruency of the custom-made implant with the adjacent joints, resulting in stability, and maintained ankle function. Furthermore, this procedure could prevent the complications of long-term external fixation and non-weight-bearing walking seen after open reduction and arthrodesis.

Level IV, retrospective comparative study.