Anterior tibial tendon transfer in idiopathic clubfoot: pull-out vs. other fixations – a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: Review the literature and describe the complications associated with each of the anterior tibial tendon transfer (ATTT) techniques described. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed with the keywords ‘’clubfoot’’, ‘’Ponseti’’ and ‘’anterior tibial’’. Studies in patients with clubfoot recurrence, who underwent ATTT, whose method of tendon fixation was different from the classical method, were included. Results: Six studies were included in this systematic review, which described multiple techniques for tibialis anterior fixation: bone anchors, interference screws, endobotton, K-wires, transosseous suture, and suture to the plantar fascia. In the papers that described postoperative complications, no major complications were reported, however the samples are generally small. Conclusion: Several options have now emerged for tendon fixation in tendon transfers around the foot and ankle, including ATTT for treatment of relapsed clubfoot. To our knowledge this is the first paper that questioned the potential complications associated with the use of these new techniques. Due to the scarcity of published works in favor of other fixation methods, we believe that the traditional method is the optimal one for the transfer of the tendon of the tibialis anterior muscle.