Ej. Bailey et Ab. Gardner, HEMOCHROMATOSIS OF THE FOOT AND ANKLE - REPORT OF 3 CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE, Clinical orthopaedics and related research, (349), 1998, pp. 108-115
Genetic hemochromatosis is a disorder of iron metabolism that results
in deposition of massive amounts of iron in the tissues. Arthropathy i
s one of numerous clinical manifestations associated with this disease
. Characteristic radiographic features have been reported in the hand
and wrist, and the hip; however, there is no mention in the literature
of joint manifestations in the foot and ankle, In this report, the au
thors present three patients with hemochromatosis arthropathy of the f
oot and ankle. Two patients presented primarily with foot pain and wer
e treated initially with orthoses, One of these patients went on to ha
ve to midfoot arthrodesis performed. The third patient presented with
ankle joint symptoms, and was treated successfully with an ankle foot
orthosis. The arthritis of hemochromatosis has classic radiographic fi
ndings. However, the arthritis of hemochromatosis may be difficult to
differentiate from several other joint diseases. Characteristic featur
es of this disease in the foot and ankle are discussed.