NEW PROCEDURE FOR SEVERE GREAT TOE ARTHRITIS SEEN AS MAJOR ADVANCEMENT
Severe great toe arthritis, known in medical communities as "hallux rigidus", is a major cause of foot pain. When conservative treatments fail to provide long-term relief, surgical treatment is usually needed. The traditional surgical procedures involve complete removal of the joint followed by either fusing the ends of the toe bones together or using a plastic-like implant. While these procedures each have there proper indications, a new procedure, developed by Dr. Thomas S. Roukis, a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon, and colleagues, uses the body's own tissues to create a durable, pain-free cushion which surrounds the joint and allows immediate weightbearing after surgery. Once fully healed, no specialized shoe gear or inserts are usually needed.
Des Plaines, IL (PRWEB) December 8, 2003 -- Severe great toe arthritis, known
in medical communities as "hallux rigidus", is a major cause of foot pain. When
conservative treatments such as ice, stiff-soled shoes, specialized shoe
inserts, oral anti-inflammatories, cortisone injections, and physical therapy
fail to provide long-term relief, surgical treatment is usually needed. The
traditional surgical procedures involve complete removal of the joint followed
by either fusing the ends of the toe bones together or using a plastic-like
implant as a spacer. While these techniques each have there proper indications,
a new procedure, developed by Dr. Thomas S. Roukis, a podiatric foot and ankle
surgeon, and colleagues, uses the body's own tissues to create a durable,
pain-free cushion which surrounds the joint and allows immediate weightbearing
after surgery. Once fully healed, no specialized shoe gear or inserts are
usually needed.
"Great toe arthritis, which we call "hallux rigidus",
where "hallux" means great toe and "rigidus" means stiffened or rigid, is
estimated to affect 1:40 people living in the USA and is a major cause of foot
pain" according to Dr. Roukis. In hallux rigidus, hard bone-spurs build-up
around the top and side of the great toe joint which limit movement and create
painful swelling deep in the joint. The majority of those who suffer from hallux
rigidus respond to conservative treatments. However, for those who fail to
realize long-term pain relief, surgery is usually the only treatment option
left. Dr. Roukis explains that, "Traditional surgical treatment options for
severe or end-stage hallux rigidus have involved: (1) removal of the base of the
great toe knuckle; (2) complete removal of the joint and then knitting the ends
together; or (3) complete removal of the joint and insertion of a synthetic
plastic-like implant. While each of these procedures has there own correct
indications, they also each have a number of potential unwanted side-effects.
Problems such as a short, floppy great toe; permanently stiffened great toe
which makes the neighboring joints prone to developing arthritis and
shoe-related irritation; and a loss of great toe function which causes a shift
in pressure to the remaining lesser toes that can in turn become painful are
frequently encounter following these surgeries."
However, Dr. Roukis and
colleagues have developed a new surgical technique which uses the body's own
tissues to replace the diseased and damaged great toe joint. Dr. Roukis states
that, "While completing my AO International Trauma Fellowship in Germany, I
conducted research which compared X-rays of the great toe before surgery and the
actual cartilage damage found in surgery. It was during this research that I
noticed that the tissues surrounding the great toe joint in patients with hallux
rigidus were thickened, spongy, and very strong. It was from this simple
observation that the procedure my colleagues and I have published was developed
and perfected." The actual procedure involves cleaning and reshaping the great
toe joint by removing the bone spurs and diseased cartilage sections and then
re-lining each of the bone ends with the neighboring tissues. In a recent
scientific paper co-authored by Dr. Roukis and published in the Journal of the
American Podiatric Medical Association, the procedure was shown to significantly
reduce pain, increase the total motion of the great toe joint, and stand the
test of time.
Dr. Roukis has recently treated a semi-professional soccer
player from Italy who had failed several previous surgeries on his great toes
for hallux rigidus and has now been able to return to competitive play. "In my
opinion" states to Dr. Roukis, "this procedure works equally well regardless of
age or activity level. It certainly leaves the proverbial door open for a more
extensive surgery at some point in the future if needed. Interestingly, none of
the patients we followed required further surgery, special shoes or inserts, and
no-one developed any pain elsewhere in the foot. It may not seem like a big
deal, but my patients like the idea that we are using their body's own tissues
rather than metal screws or silicone-rubber implants. We usually perform the
procedure under gentle sedation as an out-patient with full weightbearing
allowed the same day regardless if one or both feet are operated on. A brief
physical therapy program is used to facilitate healing after which normal shoes
and activities are returned to over a few weeks time."
The full
scientific paper can be found at: Roukis TS, et al. Distally-based
capsule-periosteum interpositional arthroplasty for hallux rigidus: Indications,
operative technique, and follow-up. J. Amer. Podiatr. Med. Assoc. 93(5):
349-366, 2003.
Dr. Roukis is in private practice in Illinois at the Weil
Foot and Ankle Institute (http://www.footankledeformity.com or http://www.weil4feet.com), has
office locations in Des Plaines, Rolling Meadows, and Libertyville, and is
on-staff at Holy Family Hospital, St. Alexius Medical Center, Highland Park
Hospital, and Lake Forest Hospital. To learn more about this new procedure or
for a consultation or second opinion with Dr. Roukis write: Weil Foot &
Ankle Institute, 1455 E. Golf Road, Suite 131, Des Plaines, Illinois 60016; call
(847) 390 7666; or email him at e-mail protected from spam bots
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/12/prweb92418.htm