Survey of the POSNA Membership Reveals Variability in Use of Tibialis Anterior Tendon Transfer for Recurrent Clubfoot

The aim of this project was to survey members of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) regarding the use of tibialis anterior tendon transfer (TATT) in the management of recurrent clubfoot with dynamic supination and no deformity. We aimed to assess which techniques for TATT are most utilized by pediatric orthopedists. As there has been no general consensus in the literature regarding best methods, we hypothesized that treatment methods would vary widely among POSNA members.

The online survey, designed using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) survey software, consisted of 15 initial questions, some of which had conditional follow-up questions that appeared if the respondent selected a specific answer choice, with a potential total of 22 questions. The survey was approved by the Evidence Based Practice Committee of POSNA and distributed to their 1,370 members.

Only the responses of POSNA members who treated clubfoot and performed TATT were included in the analysis. The 228 survey respondents reached a consensus (75% agreement) on a small number of topics: use of the Ponseti treatment method for clubfoot (94%), transfer of the tibialis anterior tendon to the lateral cuneiform (77%), transfer of only the whole tibialis anterior tendon (79%), and the use of an ankle foot orthoses (94%) among those who reported using postoperative braces. However, the remaining survey questions revealed a marked amount of variability in the performance of TATT.

Many of the questions garnered varied responses, which suggests differing opinions of POSNA members regarding how and when TATT should be performed for recurrent clubfoot with dynamic supination and no deformity. This is one of the first compilations of information about the treatment variations for TATT and may lead to further studies examining ways to standardize and optimize its use.