OPERATIVE REPAIR OF THE MALLET TOE DEFORMITY

Over a 14-year period, 60 patients (86 toes) underwent resection arthr oplasty of the proximal interphalangeal joint for a mallet toe deformi ty, During the same period, 788 hammertoe corrections were performed, for a ratio of 9:1 hammertoe to mallet toe corrections. Fifty patients (72 toes) were evaluated at an average 55-month follow-up. In 53 toes (73%), the involved toe was longer than the adjacent toes, The second , third, and fourth toes were almost equally involved with a mallet to e deformity, With a resection arthroplasty technique, an arthrodesis o f the PIP joint occurred in 52 toes (72%) and a fibrous union occurred in the remaining 20 toes (28%). Overall, 86% of the toes were rated a s satisfactory by the patient (P <.001). A slightly lower satisfaction rate (75%) was noted in those toes with a fibrous union, A flexor ten otomy was performed in 22 toes along with the mallet toe repair, Accep table alignment was noted in 96% of toes without a flexor tenotomy, an d in 90% where a mallet toe repair was performed with a flexor tenotom y. Pain was relieved (97%), correction was well maintained (91%), and patient subjective satisfaction was high (86%) with this procedure, Mi nor complications occurred in 14% of cases; however, one fourth of the se patients still noted a satisfactory result.