Arthroscopy of the subtalar joint: establishing a medial portal

One of the recently introduced procedures for studying the posterior subtalar joint is subtalar arthroscopy. There is no reference in the literature to the possibility of a medial portal that might be used either for arthroscopic insertion, probing, or instrumental manipulation. The two portals mentioned in the literature are the anterolateral and the posterolateral portals. For evaluating the possibility of establishing a medial portal, six embalmed adult cadaver feet were used to study the anatomical relations to the proposed medial portal. The subtalar joints of another six fresh adult cadaver feet were then arthroscoped, after distraction of the joint, using the anterolateral, posterolateral, and medial portals. Findings indicated that the medial portal gives good visualization of the posterior subtalar joint. Clinical application has not yet been assessed.