Long-Term Patient Reported Outcomes after Correction of Traumatic Foot Drop

CATEGORY: Trauma; Ankle INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: There is limited literature on patient reported outcomes after tendon transfer for traumatic foot drop. The purpose of this study was to determine long-term patient reported functional outcomes after posterior tibialis tendon (PTT) transfer in patients with foot drop resulting from a traumatic common peroneal nerve injury. METHODS: Between August 2006 to January 2019, 31 patients underwent PTT transfer for foot drop secondary to a traumatic injury to their common peroneal nerve at our institution. The average follow-up was 14 months. A retrospective chart review was performed to document physical exam measures and to review postoperative radiographs for changes in foot alignment. There were 17 out of the initial 31 patients available at a mean follow-up of 5.9 years who responded to a phone questionnaire, including the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) questionnaire, and questions on brace and assistive device use, activity level, and satisfaction with surgery. RESULTS: Preoperatively, all patients had an equinus contracture with no dorsiflexion strength, abnormal gait, and used an ankle- foot orthosis (AFO) or pneumatic boot for ambulation. Postoperatively, the average ankle dorsiflexion strength was 4/5 with 28/31 patients reporting a normal gait and 26/31 not using a brace for ambulation. Postoperative radiographs did not show changes in alignment or progression to flatfoot deformity. For the subset of 17 patients who responded to the phone questionnaire, the mean FAAM ADL subscale score was 68.1 and the Sport subscale score was 52.1 at an average of 5.9 years after surgery. The majority of patients (76%) were very or quite satisfied with the outcome of surgery and 15/17 (88%) patients reported they would undergo the PTT transfer procedure again. CONCLUSION: Posterior tibialis tendon transfer for patients with foot drop secondary to a traumatic injury to their common peroneal nerve showed a high satisfaction rate and improvement in function after surgery without the need for brace or assistive device use at long-term follow-up at an average of 6 years. Additionally, there was no progression to flatfoot deformity after posterior tibialis tendon transfer at 1 year postoperatively.