Lisfranc joint injuries: trauma mechanisms and associated injuries

A retrospective review of the roentgenograms of 750 patients treated in our institution for tarsometatarsal joint injuries or metatarsal fractures over a 10-year-period was performed. Injuries of the Lisfranc joint were found in 66 patients (9%). Twelve patients (19%) had a total dislocation, 47 patients (71%) a partial dislocation, and seven patients (11%) a subtle injury of the Lisfranc joint. Four main groups of trauma mechanisms were identified (low-energy injuries, falls from a height, direct crush injuries, and high-energy vehicular crashes). Lisfranc joint injuries caused by low-energy injuries (21 patients) were as frequent as those caused by high-energy vehicular crashes (22 patients). There was no apparent relationship between the mechanism of injury and the type of Lisfranc joint dislocation. All patients except three had associated metatarsal fractures, most commonly in the second metatarsal. The location of associated metatarsal fractures was different from that in patients with metatarsal fractures alone (p < 0.001). Fractures, dislocations, or fracture-dislocations of midtarsal bones (cuneiforms, cuboid, navicular) occurred in 26 patients (39%). Multiple metatarsal fractures and midtarsal bone injuries were more frequent in high-energy vehicular crashes than in low-energy injuries (p = 0.016 and p = 0.033, respectively). In 23 patients (35%), the treatment had been focused on multiple metatarsal fractures or midtarsal bone injuries without full appreciation of the concomitant Lisfranc joint incongruity. Increasing the knowledge of normal foot anatomy and the appreciation of the risk of Lisfranc joint injury even in seemingly trivial stumbling accidents obviously may improve the diagnosis and treatment of these potentially disabling injuries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)