Results after gastrocnemius recession in 73 patients

• 73 patients treated with gastrocnemius recession as single procedure were followed-up.
• 45/73 (62%) patients reported a good or excellent result.
• 28/73 (38%) patients reported one or more postoperative complication.
• Patients treated with plantar fasciitis demonstrated good clinical results.
• There is little support for gastrocnemius recession as a single procedure for metatarsalgia.

BackgroundVery few studies describe the clinical results and complications following the surgical procedure of gastrocnemius recession.PurposeTo survey the patient reported outcomes in patients operated with gastrocnemius recession as single procedure for various foot conditions.Material and methods93 patients operated with gastrocnemius recession as single procedure between 2006 and 2011 were detected in the database. 73 patients responded to the invitation for study participation. Questionnaires containing patient reported satisfaction, complications, plantar flexion power and visual analog pain score were used for evaluation of the postoperative result.Results45/73 (62%) patients reported a good or excellent result. 8/73 (11%) patients reported a significant postoperative complication. 16/73 (22%) patients noted reduced or severely reduced plantar flexion power after surgery. VAS pain score significantly decreased from 7.0 before surgery to 1.8 (p =0.015) after surgery for patients with plantar fasciitis (n =18) and from 5.6 to 2.3 (p < 0.01) for patients with metatarsalgia (n = 28).ConclusionPatients treated with gastrocnemius recession for plantar fasciitis demonstrated good clinical results. The complication rate was higher than reported by others.