Does Timing of Hindfoot Reconstruction Before or After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty Impact Reoperation Rates?

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and hindfoot reconstruction (HFR) are often used to treat osteoarthritis and deformities of the knee and hindfoot. Despite the proven clinical effectiveness of these treatments, postoperative patient dissatisfaction is high. The knee and ankle are adjacent joints in the lower extremity, and angular deformity of either joint is known to affect positioning of the anatomical and mechanical axes of the entire limb. Although it is understood this relationship exists, there are limited studies evaluating outcomes of ipsilateral procedures on patients with pathologies of both knee and hindfoot. This article aims to evaluate whether TKA or TAA/HFR sequencing influences postoperative outcome. The study hypothesis is that TKA prior to TAA/HFR results in lower reoperation. Methods: A retrospective chart review using Results: This study included 158 patients, with 79 patients in each group. In the TKA-first group, the mean follow-up time was 10.24 years (range, 1.10-22.42 years) and the mean time to HFR was 5.94 years. In the HFR-first group, the mean follow-up time was 9.01 years (range, 1.01-23.55 years) and the mean time to TKA was 5.51 years.In patients who underwent TKA first, the mean reoperation rate was not significantly different from those who underwent HFR/TAA first, 30.4% vs 19.0% ( Conclusion: In contrast to the study hypothesis that TKA first would result in less reoperation, our study found that TAA or HFR performed before TKA had an overall lower complication rate. However, these findings should be interpreted cautiously as the sample size was limited. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective cohort study.