ARTICLESRheumatoid Arthritis Total Ankle Replacement With the STAR ProsthesisWood, Peter L. R. F.R.C.S. Author Information From Wrightington Hospital Wigan, U.K. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Peter L. R. Wood, FRCS, Wrightington Hospital, Hall Lane, Appley Bridge, Wigan WN6 9EP, U.K. E-mail: [email protected] Techniques in Orthopaedics: September 2003 - Volume 18 - Issue 3 - p 286-291 Buy Abstract Summary Interest in total ankle arthroplasty has been reawakened by the introduction of the mobile-bearing designs. The Scandinavian total ankle replacement (STAR) is 1 such design, and the author has used it regularly over the past 10 years for 150 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The author describes some modifications to the surgical technique and some new instruments that he has found of value. It is his opinion that it is essential to obtain excellent exposure of the lateral compartment of the ankle joint before making the distal tibial resection. Preoperative varus or valgus deformity is associated with an increased incidence of complications. The author advises extreme caution in undertaking ankle replacement when the deformity is greater than 20°. © 2003 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
