Outcomes for surgical correction for stages 2 and 3 tibialis posterior dysfunction

Between the years 1991 and 1996, 13 patients with stage 2 or 3 tibialis posterior dysfunction were evaluated following surgical reconstruction. Those patients with posterior tibial tendon tendinitis with a progressive flatfoot were categorized as having a stage 2 deformity according to Mueller's developmental stages of tibialis posterior dysfunction. Those patients with increasing severity of symptoms including a forefoot abductus component were classified as stage 3. There were five patients in stage 2, ranging in age from 53 to 80 years old; and there were eight patients in stage 3, ranging in age from 41 to 73 years old. Standard conservative care was utilized prior to surgical intervention in all cases. Follow-up was 12 months to 63 months. Patients in stage 2 underwent a Cobb reconstruction utilizing a split tibialis anterior tenodesis, and patients in stage 3 underwent an Evans lateral column-lengthening procedure combined with a Cobb procedure. Utilizing retrospective radiographic evaluation and patient interviews, results indicated that patients in stage 2 had a better patient satisfaction than those patients in stage 3. Although both patient groups had a 6-point average decrease in pain according to the 0- to 10-point visual analog pain scale, 50% of the patients undergoing a Cobb-Evans procedure felt that the procedure did not meet their expectations. Only one out of the five Cobb procedure patients felt that the procedure did not meet his expectations. The results of this limited study of patients with stage 3 tibialis posterior dysfunction suggest that although the lateral column lengthening with tendon augmentation renders good radiographic correction, many patients develop protracted lateral column pain and felt that surgery did not meet their expectations. Additional calcaneal osteotomies and arthrodesing procedures of the hindfoot may render a more satisfactory outcome.