Talocalcaneal Coalition: Current Concepts, Clinical Implications, and Management Strategies

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Radiology
• Pediatric Orthopedics

Background:

• Talocalcaneal coalition is a common cause of painful rigid flatfoot in adolescents and young adults.
• It results from a congenital failure of segmentation leading to abnormal joint bridging.
• Clinical symptoms often appear during skeletal maturation, including hindfoot pain and planovalgus deformity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of current concepts in talocalcaneal coalition.
• To focus on clinical implications and contemporary management strategies.
• To analyze diagnostic pathways and treatment options.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of existing literature.
• Analysis of diagnostic modalities including CT and MRI.
• Discussion of conservative treatment, coalition resection, and arthrodesis.

Main Results:

• Advances in imaging (CT, MRI, weight-bearing CT) improve recognition and characterization.
• Diagnosis integrates clinical findings with imaging.
• Management strategies are tailored based on patient selection and prognostic factors.

Conclusions:

• Accurate diagnosis combining clinical and imaging data is crucial.
• Contemporary management involves conservative care, surgical resection, or arthrodesis.
• Further research is needed for standardized criteria and optimized treatment algorithms to enhance long-term outcomes.