Isolated subtalar dislocation.

BACKGROUND: Little attention has been devoted to subtalar dislocations without an associated bone injury in the literature to date. The aim of this study was to assess the functional and subjective results of a cohort of patients with this injury.

METHODS: A total of ninety-seven patients with a subtalar dislocation were treated at two major university trauma centers from January 1994 to March 2007. Computed tomographic scans indicated a subtalar dislocation without associated bone injury in twenty-three of these patients. Clinical and radiographic examinations were performed on all twenty-three patients at an average of 58.3 months after the completion of treatment. The postoperative clinical examination was supplemented by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale, and the degree of arthritis was assessed radiographically.

RESULTS: The average score on the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scale score was 82.3 points. Twenty-one patients achieved a good result, and two patients had a satisfactory result. The range of motion of the subtalar joint was an average of 41.3 degrees. No difference between the results of the medial and lateral subtalar dislocations was observed. Only six patients had minor radiographic changes.

CONCLUSIONS: The intermediate-term results for a subtalar dislocation without an associated osseous injury are good, and the direction of the dislocation does not appear to make a difference with regard to clinical or radiographic outcome.