J Korean Orthop Assoc.  2020 Aug;55(4):324-330. 10.4055/jkoa.2020.55.4.324.

Prevalence of Tarsal Coalition in the Korean Population: A Single Institution-Based Study

• Kim TY
• Yoon SH
• Ko JH
• Lee TH
• Yi SR

• KMID: 2505766
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4055/jkoa.2020.55.4.324

Abstract

Purpose
Korean studies on the prevalence of a tarsal coalition are quite rare, and there are very few reports on the prevalence of multipletarsal coalitions among adults in the foreign literature. Therefore, this study examined the characteristics and prevalence of tarsal coalitionin the Korean population based on imaging tests.
Materials and Methods
The prevalence of tarsal coalition and its anatomical location and histological classification were reviewedretrospectively among 4,711 patients (4,454 males and 257 females) with an ankle sprain or ankle fracture who underwent foot and anklecomputed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging between March 2009 and February 2019 at the authors’ institution.
Results
Over a period of 10 years, 78 patients (1.7%) had a tarsal coalition, among whom 53 patients (67.9%) had an isolated tarsalcoalition and 25 patients (32.1%) had multiple tarsal coalitions. Regarding the anatomical location, a talocalcaneal coalition was the mostcommon type in both isolated (31 patients, 37 cases [62.7%]) and multiple (22 patients, 23 cases [45.1%]) tarsal coalitions. In the isolatedcoalition group, the second-most common type was calcaneonavicular coalition (10 patients, 16.9%), followed by naviculocuneiform (ninepatients, 15.3%) and cuboidonavicular coalitions (three patients, 5.1%). In the multiple coalition group, the second-most common coalitiontype was calcaneonavicular coalition (14 patients, 14 cases [27.5%]), followed by talonavicular coalition (six patients, six cases [11.8%]).From a total of 60 cases of talocalcaneal coalition, 24 cases (40.0%) were in the posterior facet, 18 cases (30.0%) in the middle facet, andfour cases (6.7%) in the anterior facet. Regarding the histological classification, cartilaginous coalition was the most common in both single(32 patients, 35 cases [59.3%]) and multiple (20 patients, 37 cases [72.5%]) coalition groups.
Conclusion
The present study found that talocalcaneal coalition was the most common type of tarsal coalition. In contrast to previousreports that a talocalcaneal coalition generally occurs in the middle facet, it was usually observed in the posterior facet in the presentstudy. In addition, although multiple tarsal coalitions have been reported to be quite rare, this study confirmed that they are not rare andcan occur in a range of patterns.

Keyword

foot; prevalence; tarsal coalition