Complications After Minimally Invasive vs Open Calcaneal Osteotomy: A Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Foot and Ankle Surgery
• Surgical Techniques

Background:

• Calcaneal osteotomy is a key procedure for foot and ankle deformities.
• Both open and minimally invasive surgical (MIS) approaches exist.
• Comparing complication rates between open and MIS calcaneal osteotomies is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare complication rates, including infection, wound dehiscence, nerve damage, hardware failure, reoperation, and nonunion, between open and MIS calcaneal osteotomies.
• To evaluate the safety and efficacy of different surgical techniques for calcaneal osteotomy.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of patients undergoing open or MIS calcaneal osteotomy (March 2021-July 2024).
• Procedures performed by fellowship-trained orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeons on patients >18 years.
• Minimum 12-month follow-up to record demographic information and postoperative complications.

Main Results:

• 44 patients in the open cohort and 26 in the MIS cohort were analyzed.
• No significant difference in nonunion or nerve complication rates between groups.
• Fewer minor wound complications were observed in the MIS cohort (3.8% vs. 20.5%), but this difference was not significant after false discovery rate (FDR) adjustment.

Conclusions:

• Open and MIS calcaneal osteotomies demonstrate comparable major complication rates and calcaneal correction.
• No statistically significant difference in total or minor complication rates was detected post-FDR adjustment.
• Both methods improved function and mobility; MIS showed a significant improvement in pain scores post-FDR adjustment.