It’s rare anymore to see a polio deformity but I saw one this week. A 52 y/o male presented to the office with a deformity of the right leg. The polio vaccine would have been available for him as a child….but that’s another story. Vaccines work and it’s a mystery why some folks choose not to use them.
This fellow presented with calcaneal varus and ankle arthritis. Calcaneal varus is a deformity of the heel (calcaneus) that when viewed from the back, the heels are positioned as such… \ / . In this case, the right calcaneal varus was rigid (uncompensated). I performed his surgery on Tuesday that involved a Dwyer osteotomy of the heel. A Dwyer is a closing wedge performed on the lateral aspect of the heel that swings the heel back under the leg. I also performed a scope on the right ankle to clean up residual arthritis of the ankle.
What’s rewarding about this case is the impact that it’ll have on this fellow’s life. He’s not going to be perfect and we can’t restore the muscle tone of the leg post-polio, but he’ll be able to walk again.
Jeffrey Oster, DPM
Myfootshop.com
