Treatment of Chronic Subluxation of the Peroneal Tendons Using a Modified Posteromedial Peroneal Tendon Groove Deepening Technique

The present study investigated the clinical efficacy of a modified approach for the treatment of chronic subluxation of the peroneal tendons using posteromedial peroneal tendon groove deepening. We retrospectively analyzed the data from 21 patients who had undergone posteromedial peroneal tendon groove deepening combined with repair of the tendon sheath for the treatment of chronic subluxation of the peroneal tendons from March 2006 to October 2012. The lateral edge of the peroneal tendon groove was left untouched. A posterior osteocartilaginous flap was detached from the posterior fibula from medially to laterally. The retromalleolar groove was deepened through impaction of the posterior fibula. A visual analog scale and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot scale were used. All patients achieved healing after the first surgery. No postoperative complications developed. Sixteen patients were followed up for 24 to 69 months. The mean American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot scale score improved from 55.0 to 93.6 points after surgery. The mean visual analog scale score decreased from 5.3 to 1.2 points. Five patients had moderate hindfoot rigidity and achieved improvements after rehabilitation training. None of the patients had specific requirements for shoes and ground flatness. All patients had a normal gait. No case of recurrent subluxation developed. These results indicate that posteromedial peroneal tendon groove deepening combined with repair of the tendon sheath can achieve satisfactory efficacy.