Talectomy in a Neglected Club Foot in Zambia: A Low Cost One Step Option in a Developing Country

Talectomy was first described in 1608, but the enthusiasm for this procedure peaked in the 1920s. Nowadays, it is considered only as a salvage procedure and it is used extremely rarely. Ponseti treatment and multiple stage surgery are both better alternatives than talectomy, but they require a long follow-up pieriod, which could not be affordable for all patients in any developing countries. Our equipe has been involved in a charity program in Zambia and we are presenting as a case report the clinical results of a talectomy performed to a 12 years old male child, affected by a severe neglected clubfoot. The surgery was performed through an anterior approach, the patient was casted for 4 weeks. At 6 months follow-up, he presented a good limb alignment with apparently a good function and a residual 20 degrees of range of motion. Ponseti treatment and multiple-step surgery should be both preferred to talectomy, which, anyway, sometimes for social reasons, represents a viable alternative to those treatments. How to cite this article Usuelli FG, Lastroni G, Grassi M, Malerba F. Talectomy in a Neglected Club Foot in Zambia: A Low Cost One Step Option in a Developing Country. J Foot Ankle Surg (Asia-Pacific) 2014;1(1):32-33.