Prospective Level II study comparing 3D gait analysis outcomes in 14 patients who underwent total ankle arthroplasty (STAR prosthesis) versus 14 who underwent ankle arthrodesis, with 14 normal volunteers as controls, measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. The study asks whether TAA or arthrodesis produces superior gait function — and in which specific parameters.
When counseling patients on TAA versus arthrodesis, recognize that neither procedure is uniformly superior at 1 year: TAA better restores sagittal dorsiflexion and gait symmetry, while arthrodesis — often performed in patients with greater coronal deformity — produces comparable overall gait through compensatory hindfoot hypermobility.
Patient selection (age, deformity magnitude, joint alignment) drives procedure choice and shapes the functional result as much as the implant itself.
Prospective Level II study comparing 3D gait analysis outcomes in 14 patients who underwent total ankle arthroplasty (STAR prosthesis) versus 14 who underwent ankle arthrodesis, with 14 normal volunteers as controls, measured preoperatively and at 1 year postoperatively. The study asks whether TAA or arthrodesis produces superior gait function — and in which specific parameters.
When counseling patients on TAA versus arthrodesis, recognize that neither procedure is uniformly superior at 1 year: TAA better restores sagittal dorsiflexion and gait symmetry, while arthrodesis — often performed in patients with greater coronal deformity — produces comparable overall gait through compensatory hindfoot hypermobility.
Patient selection (age, deformity magnitude, joint alignment) drives procedure choice and shapes the functional result as much as the implant itself.