Factors associated with satisfaction with bunion surgery in women: A prospective study

BackgroundHallux valgus is a common indication for foot surgery. Over 25% of patients are dissatisfied with the outcome.ObjectiveTo examine women's pre- and post-surgical characteristics, regarding satisfaction with surgery for hallux valgus (‘bunions’).MethodProspective cohort of 95 consecutive female patients (132 ‘foot cases’) undergoing bunion surgery. Baseline interview and questionnaire asked about attitudes to fashion and footwear, plus SF-36 general health survey. At 12 months post-surgery, patients who were ‘very pleased’ with their surgery were compared with everyone else regarding their pre-, peri- and post-operative characteristics.ResultsBy 12 months, key SF-36 domains had significantly improved. The 75 foot operations (n = 75/116, 64.7%) were associated with respondents being ‘very pleased’ with their foot surgery. Following adjustment, the odds of being ‘very pleased’ were severely reduced where respondents were not ‘very pleased’ their foot's appearance (p < 0.001), or where foot pain was anything but absent (p = 0.018). There was significant interaction between pre-operative expectations of resumption of hiking/sports activities and range of footwear able to be worn post-operatively.ConclusionsThe perceived appearance of their foot and range of shoes that women can wear, are crucial to womens’ satisfaction with the outcome of bunion surgery. The (total) alleviation of pain is also important.     

Psychosocial management of the foot and ankle surgery patient

Currently, many patients undergo surgery when they and their families are not prepared or resilient enough to recover fully, predisposing them to poor outcomes. These poor outcomes lead to missed work, patient depression, chronic pain, litigation, and surgeon frustration. Sometimes these individuals require the surgeon's oversight and are more likely to improve with rapid vocational therapy, physical therapy, and aggressive, continuous chronic-pain management. The foot and ankle surgeon who takes a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary perspective will prescreen his or her patients for positive risk factors and expand his or her intervention long before and after surgery. This strategy of triaging medical cases to differential treatment is not a new concept in medicine. What is novel is the necessity of triaging and prioritizing patients on the basis of the most significant factors that determine successful surgical outcome: psychologic, social, environmental, and historical medical factors . Robert Sternberg of Yale University suggested that three psychologic problem-solving strategies are available: (1) I can try to change myself, (2) I can try to change others, or (3) I can try to change the situation. Naturally, the authors of this article encourage applying all three: (1) the caring surgeon is attentive to these issues; (2) the medical community prepares the patient, themselves, and the patient's family; and (3) the environment into which the patient is released is altered to support their rehabilitation. The ABLE Presurgical Assessment Tool and related treatment strategies provide foot and ankle surgeons with an easy-to-use, research-based application to better screen and manage their surgical patients. The goal of this review and assessment tool is not to determine a quantitative level of risk. Instead, the authors hope to facilitate a surgeon's awareness of critical preoperative risk factors and provide a tool to efficiently identify these factors and arrange appropriate treatment as needed.     

Morbidity associated with anterior iliac crest bone grafting in foot and ankle surgery

BACKGROUND: Substitutes for bone graft have been advocated to avoid the potential morbidity associated with harvest of autogenous iliac crest graft. However, no current commercially available graft equals autogenous bone's osteoinductive and osteoconductive qualities. We reviewed our patients' morbidity after harvest of anterior iliac crest bone grafts for procedures involving the foot and ankle. METHODS: A computerized analysis of patient records was undertaken to identify all patients who had a harvest of unicortical iliac crest bone graft during a 12-year period. Patients were contacted either by telephone or by mailed questionnaire, inquiring about the postoperative morbidity of the procedure. Medical records were reviewed for any related complications. RESULTS: Of the 169 patients identified, 134 could be contacted. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 13 years. Not all patients answered every question. At latest follow up, 120 (90%)-patients reported no pain at the bone graft site. Eleven patients complained of persistent residual numbness lateral to the harvest site on the pelvis. Of these 120 patients, 32 (27%) reported that pain at the graft site was greater than the pain at the operative site during the initial postoperative period. No patients had extra hospital days as a result of the bone graft harvest. No deep infections occurred, although 12 (6.7%) of 180 patients had a postoperative hematoma or seroma. Overall, 116 (90%) of 129 patients were satisfied or very satisfied with their bone graft harvest. CONCLUSIONS: Harvesting of autogenous iliac crest bone graft provides the optimal bone graft material, yields minimal morbidity, and is an acceptable choice in supplementing surgical procedures on the foot and ankle.     

Complications associated with foot and ankle arthroscopy

Despite a late start within the realm of arthroscopy, foot and ankle arthroscopy proves to be an important diagnostic and treatment tool for the foot and ankle specialist. As indication for arthroscopy increases, complications associated with foot and ankle arthroscopy must be revisited. We reviewed 405 foot and ankle arthroscopic procedures performed on 390 patients in 4 different facilities over a 3-year period extending from January 2005 to August 2008. Two-hundred-sixty foot and ankle arthroscopic procedures on 251 patients met our inclusion criteria. A total of 246 ankle and 14 posterior subtalar arthroscopic procedures were performed with a mean follow-up of 10.7 ± 3.5 months. Patient demographics, preoperative findings, intraoperative technique, and postoperative course were reviewed. We failed to identify statistically significant predictive factors for complications. Arthroscopy performed in combination with adjunctive procedures showed a trend toward higher complication rate, although statistical significance was not noted. Overall, 20 cases (7.69%) experienced arthroscopy-related complications, and this finding was comparable with previously published results. The most common complication was cutaneous nerve injury, which involved 9 cases (3.46%), and localized superficial infection, which involved 8 cases (3.08%). Injury to the superficial peroneal nerve accounted for 5 of the cutaneous nerve injuries. There were no cases of arthroscopy-related vascular injury. All cases of superficial postoperative infection resolved with antibiotic therapy, and none of the cases required return to the operating room. These results were also similar to published data.     

Biologics in foot and ankle surgery

This article is another review of clinical application of the use of bone morphogenetic proteins, specifically rhBMP2 Infuse Bonegraft, in the treatment of both acute and chronic fracture and fusion situations. Overall experience is reported with particular detail to the use of biologics in the treatment of problems involving the tibia, foot, and ankle.     

Influence of quality of recovery on patient satisfaction with anaesthesia and surgery: a prospective observational cohort study

Patient satisfaction and quality of recovery are important measures of quality. Whether, and to what extent, patient satisfaction is influenced by quality of recovery, however, is not clear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the additional influence of quality of recovery on total patient satisfaction with anaesthesia and surgery. In this prospective cohort study, we used a validated quality of recovery questionnaire and a multi‐item patient satisfaction questionnaire. Patients completed the quality of recovery questionnaire pre‐operatively and 24 h postoperatively. One to two weeks after discharge, a third quality of recovery questionnaire was sent out, together with the patient satisfaction questionnaire. If no response was received after 2 weeks, a reminder containing the quality of recovery and the satisfaction questionnaire were mailed. Seven hundred and thirty‐four patients were consecutively assessed for eligibility. Five hundred and seventy‐nine patients completed at least one questionnaire (recruitment rate 79%). Four hundred and sixty‐seven patients (81%) completed all four questionnaires. The total satisfaction score was high, with a mean (SD) of 94.6 (10.7) on a 0–100 scale. Correlation analysis between quality of recovery and total patient satisfaction showed correlations of 0.2–0.3. Testing different aspects of quality of recovery in models already containing the significant factors of patient satisfaction did not improve the model fit markedly. We conclude that quality of recovery has only a marginal additional effect on total patient satisfaction with anaesthesia and surgery.     

What's new in foot and ankle surgery

This update summarizes recent research pertaining to the subspecialty of orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery that was published or presented between August 2009 and July 2010. The sources of these studies include The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American and British Volumes), Foot & Ankle International, and the proceedings of Specialty Day at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), held on March 13, 2010, in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the summer meeting of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS), held on July 7 through 10, 2010, in National Harbor, Maryland.