Arthroscopic Sesamoidectomy for Hallux Sesamoid Disorders

In this retrospective case series, we aimed to study arthroscopic sesamoidectomy, including surgical methods, clinical outcomes, and complications. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with hallux sesamoid disorders who underwent arthroscopic sesamoidectomy from July 2015 to July 2017. The visual analog scale for rating pain, Japanese Society for Surgery of the Foot scale scores, number of days taken to return to normal daily living, number of months taken to return to playing sports, and complications were analyzed. The mean follow-up duration was 3.2 years. Among 14 patients, there were 8 females and 6 males (median age: 39 years). The mean visual analog scale score improved from 75.4 to 14.3 mm; the mean Japanese Society for Surgery of the Foot score improved from 55.2 to 88.0 points. The mean time to return to activities of daily living was 5.3 days. Among the 5 patients who played sports, 3 and 2 patients resumed playing sports at 3 and 12 postoperative months, respectively. Complications included wound pain (n = 4), discomfort in severe weather (n = 4), numbness (n = 3), pain in the sole other than in the ball of the foot (n = 2), pain during hallux dorsiflexion (n = 2), residual sesamoid discomfort (n = 1), swelling (n = 1), toe-in gait (n = 1), and metatarsal head bone marrow edema (n = 1). Despite good clinical outcomes of arthroscopic sesamoidectomy, patients should be made aware of the many potential complications of this procedure prior to surgery.