Results of the surgical treatment of brachymetatarsia by one-stage lengthening of the meta-tarsal bone using an autograft from tubular bones of the foot

Introduction. Brachymetatarsia is a fairly rare pathology that is characterized by shortening of the metatarsal (or metatarsals) bones due to premature closure of the growth plate. However, most patients suffering from this pathology require surgical treatment.

Purpose of the study: to improve the results of treatment of patients with brachymetatarisis by introducing into surgical practice the method of simultaneous lengthening of the metatarsal bone using an autograſt from the tubular bones of the foot.

Materials and methods. This article presents a comparison of treatment results between two groups of patients. The main group of patients (40 patients, 50 feet) underwent simultaneous lengthening of the shortened metatarsal bone using autograſts from tubular bones of the foot. The control group of patients (25 patients, 33 feet) underwent distraction osteosynthesis of the metatarsal bone using an external fixation device.

Results. The results obtained during the study suggest the advantage of the method of one-step lengthening of the metatarsal bone using autograſts from tubular bones of the foot over the distraction method. Patients in the main group had a shorter healing period compared to the control group (8.1±1.3 and 16.2±2.4 weeks, respectively), and fewer complications. Also, patients of the main group in the early postoperative period noted a high cosmetic result of the operation.

Conclusions. By using the developed method of surgical treatment, we were able to significantly reduce the treatment time for patients, as well as achieve high aesthetic results.

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