Short-term and mid-term outcome of total ankle replacement in haemophilic patients

Background: Ankle arthropathy is very frequent in haemophilic patients. Prostheses are valuable alternatives to arthrodesis in non-haemophilic patients. We report the experience of a single centre in France on the use of prostheses in haemophilic patients. Methods: Retrospective study of 21 patients with haemarthropathy who underwent ankle arthroplasty (32 ankles), with additional surgery, if needed, from July 2002 to September 2009 (mean follow-up 4.4 +/- 1.7 years). The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale was used to evaluate pain, function, ankle mobility and alignment. Results: The overall AOFAS score improved from 40.2 +/- 19.4 (pre-surgery) to 85.3 +/- 11.4 (post-surgery). The function score increased from 23.6 +/- 7.7 to 35.9 +/- 6.7 and dorsiflexion from 0.38 +/- 5.08 to 10.38 +/- 4.48. Two patients underwent further ankle arthrodesis. On X-ray, both tibial and talar components were stable and correctly placed in all ankles. Alignment was good. Conclusion: Ankle arthroplasty is a promising alternative to arthrodesis in haemophilic patients. (C) 2014 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.