Surgery for symptomatic Freiberg's disease - Extraarticular dorsal closing-wedge osteotomy in 13 patients followed for 2-4 years

From 1992 through 1995, we have treated 13 patients (10 men) with Freiberg' s disease by debridement and dorsal closing-wedge osteotomy of the metatars al neck. The lesion was located in the second metatarsal head in 10 patient s and in the third metatarsal head in 3. After osteotomy, the lesion was aw ay from the joint, so that the smooth and healthy articular cartilage of th e metatarsal head faced the phalangeal cartilage. The average follow-up per iod was 40 (28-54) months. The subjective outcome was good or excellent in 11 patients, fair in 1, and poor in 1. We found MRI useful in determining t he extent of the lesion when planning correction.