Hemiarthroplasty of the Ankle Joint: Mid-Term Results

CATEGORY: Ankle Arthritis; Ankle INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: Tendinopathy of the flexor hallucis longus is a common condition that occurs with considerable frequency, but in some specific situations, due to a content (tendon)/continent (retomalleolar groove) conflict, could manifest a scenario in which the tendon suffers entrapment during its entry to the tunnel and clinically represented as hallux saltans METHODS: We present a case report of a young active patient without any of the conditions or etiological agents previously described in the literature that could explain the cause of this rare condition. After failing conservative treatment, we performed arthroscopic release of the tendon and the fibrous tunnel, achieving direct visualization and minimal soft tissue injury RESULTS: At 6 months, the patient resumed sports and activity of daily living without any type of sequelae. CONCLUSION: Hallux saltans is a rare condition mostly idiopathic in its origin. After conservative measures fail, surgical management is an option, which consists of resecting FHL enlargement to its original width and freeing the fibro-osseous tunnel in the back of the talus in order to solve the space conflict during its normal gliding. An arthroscopic approach is optimal as it allows a good visualization without harming soft tissues and allowing a quicker recovery.