Incidence of reoperation and wound dehiscence in patients treated for peroneal tendon dislocations: comparison between osteotomy versus soft tissue procedures

Purposes: There is a lack of substantial clinical evidence endorsing the clinical outcomes of osteotomy for peroneal tendon dislocations. The aim of this study was to compare the post-operative reoperation rates following osteotomy techniques and soft tissues procedures using large database in order to investigate the efficacy of bony techniques. Methods: Patients who underwent osteotomy and soft tissue procedures for peroneal tendon dislocations were identified and subsequently analysed using the United Healthcare Orthopedic and the Medicare datasets (PearlDiver Patient Record Database, PearlDiver Technologies Inc., Fort Wayne, IN). The investigated period was from 2005 to 2012. The annual incidence, gender distribution, and incidences of reoperation and wound dehiscence following primary operative procedures were determined in these cohorts. Results: Of 6122 patients who received operative treatment for peroneal tendon dislocations, 1416 patients (23.1%) received the osteotomy technique, while 4706 (76.9%) were treated with the soft tissue techniques. The incidence of these operative procedures did not change significantly over the time periods of each database. In both databases, reoperation rates were 2.8% (40/1416) for osteotomy patients and 3.4% (158/4706) for soft tissue repair patients, with no statistical difference (2.8 vs. 3.4%. odds ratio 0.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.6–1.2, [n.s.]) between them. Based on both databases, wound dehiscence occurred in 2.6% (37/1416) of the osteotomy patients and 2.3% (110/4706) of soft tissue repair patients with no statistical difference (2.6 vs. 2.3%, odds ratio 1.1, 95% CI 0.8–1.6, [n.s.]) between the groups. Conclusion: The results of this study show that osteotomy techniques were frequently performed for patients with peroneal tendon dislocations. Nevertheless, osteotomy techniques for peroneal tendon dislocations are not associated with a lower risk of reoperation. In conclusion, soft tissue procedures offer a satisfactory method of treating peroneal tendon dislocations without any additional risk of reoperation when compared to osteotomy techniques that have potentially greater complication rates. Level of evidence: III.