Patient satisfaction and function after bilateral ankle arthrodeses

•We report the outcome of a series of bilateral ankle arthrodeses.•Following bilateral ankle arthrodesis the mean AOFAS score was 79.5 (range 71–90).•Following bilateral ankle arthrodesis there is a high patient reported satisfaction.•Following bilateral ankle arthrodesis the benefit lasts into the medium term.

BackgroundThe optimum way to manage patients with bilateral ankle arthritis (AA) is unclear.MethodsThis review was performed to report the midterm satisfaction and functional outcome of a series of patients who have undergone bilateral staged ankle arthrodesis.ResultsEight patients, median age 68.5 yrs (range 59–80) were followed-up for a median of 58.5 months (range 24–100). All fusions united in a median time of 12.8 weeks (range 10–19) Their median AOFAS hindfoot score was 79.5 (range 71–90). Six patients (75%) were very satisfied, one was satisfied, and the other neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Two patients developed symptomatic subtalar arthritis requiring subtalar fusion.ConclusionsThis is the first study to report the outcome of bilateral AA independent to that of unilateral AA. Bilateral AA appears to give patients a good functional result with high patient reported satisfaction into the medium term.