Arthrodesis May Be Better
Globally there has been a trend towards increased use of total ankle arthroplasty . This is partly due to an increase in the severity of ankle injuries sustained from either physical activity, or from degenerative diseases like arthritis and partly due to technological advancements in the field. With this increase, there comes an inevitable increase in the need to revise the prostheses, with component exchange and revision procedures often considered. Australians surgeons however, do not seem to be following the trend , with a decreasing number of ankle replacement procedures being performed. From a peak in 2011 with 324 ankle replacements performed, the number in 2013 decreased to 251. This is a decrease of 24% in less than 24 months and given the leaps and bounds the industry is making forward from a technological standpoint, there no reason for this continued decline. Yet the trend is continuing into 2014 with only 90 arthroplasty procedures being performed so far.* Perhaps Austral