Incidence of Acute vs Chronic Post-op Complications Following TAA: Are They Preventable?

Abstract

Category: Ankle Arthritis Introduction/Purpose: Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is becoming an increasingly common procedure with high patient satisfaction and improved outcomes. Although previous studies have explored various patient outcomes, there is variability in reporting methods and acute and chronic complications following TAA are poorly described. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute and chronic postoperative complications in patients undergoing TAA at our institution. Methods: Following institutional board approval, a retrospective chart review was conducted for all patients who underwent TAA from 2002-2017 at our institution. Patients were followed from the time of surgery to their 1 year follow-up. Demographics and post-op complications were recorded at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 1 year following surgery. Results: At our institution from 2002-2017, a total of 187 patients underwent TAA. The mean age of our cohort was 62.8 (Range 20-68). In our cohort, 106 were male and 81 were female, and the mean patient BMI was 31.6 (Range 33-89). At 4 weeks post- operatively, the most common acute complication was superficial infection (4.8%). Within 6 weeks post-operatively, 1 patient had a VTE (0.53%). The highest chronic complication following TAA was post-operative pain – 12.3% patients reported significant post-operative pain 1 year following surgery. 9.6% patients required hardware removal greater than 1 year following TAA. Conclusion: At our institution the most common acute complication at 4 weeks following TAA was surgical site infection (4.8%). The most common chronic complication was post-operative pain (12.3%). Further investigation is needed to understand the greatest contributing factors to these complications and future studies will focus on methods to minimize surgical site infection and post-operative pain following TAA.