Charcot foot reconstruction can be one of the most challenging surgeries of the foot and ankle. What is charcot foot ? How does one get it and what do you do if you end up with charcot foot?

Charcot foot otherwise known as neuropathic arthropathy or neuropathic osteoarthropathy or charcot joint is a disease process that happens where the bones of ones foot or ankle start a process of resorption and soften which then leads to a breakdown of joints which then lead to deformity of the foot and ulceration’s. Not all feet ulcerate, however once the foot ulcerates the patient is at a high risk for infection and loss of foot or leg. This happens moslty in diabetics however it can happen in Alchoholic neuropathy spinal diseases certain steroid injections and syphillis.  the process by which this happens is a complex cellular reaction and microtruama which leads to the final charcot foot. Ultimately for today’s blog i would like to discuss  how we are

Charcot foot

treating these feet and preventing amputation. Usually these feet become deformed in the opposite direction of what a normal foot is. A normal foot has an arch to it however a charcot foot becomes a rockerbottom foot. Lets compare this to a suspension bridge, when looking at the road on the bridge from a distance the road looks like and arch but if the suspension is not holding up it looks sagging. Similar to what the foot bone structures look like when the charcot process completes itself.

There are many ways to reconstruct a charcot deformity, in future blogs I will show you some of my cases and the use of the Taylor spatial frame particularly the Miter frame construct on how a two stage procedure is the safest method to obtaining the correction needed.