ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is little literature on patient-reported outcomes following total ankle replacement in patients with osteoarthritis, posttraumatic osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. We compared the differences in demographic data and clinical and patient-reported outcomes among patients with those types of arthritis who underwent total ankle replacement performed with use of the MOBILITY Total Ankle System. METHODS: Patients were divided into three groups based on the preoperative diagnosis of type of arthritis. We analyzed patient demographic data, American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, and patient-reported outcomes as measured with use of the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS), the 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) Health Survey, and patient-satisfaction scores, collected preoperatively and at one and two years postoperatively. RESULTS: The study included 106 consecutive patients who underwent total ankle replacement between March 2006 and December 2009. The posttraumatic osteoarthritis group, which had twenty-eight patients, was significantly younger (mean age, 54.8 yrs; p < 0.05) than the other groups; the rheumatoid arthritis group, which had twenty-two patients, had a significantly lower mean body mass index (24.5 kg/m(2); p < 0.05); and the osteoarthritis group, which had fifty-six patients, had a higher proportion of males (41 males; p < 0.05). The posttraumatic osteoarthritis group reported better scores for two of the eight domains of the SF-36 preoperatively. At one year postoperatively, the posttraumatic osteoarthritis group and the rheumatoid arthritis group had better FAOS results regarding pain than those of the osteoarthritis group, and the posttraumatic osteoarthritis group also reported better scores for the general health domain of the SF-36. At two years, the posttraumatic group continued to show significantly higher scores for the general health domain of the SF-36. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the AOFAS scores, other FAOS results, or the patient-satisfaction scores at one and two years postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that early outcomes after total ankle replacement for patients with posttraumatic osteoarthritis are comparable with those for patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
