The document discusses the anatomy, etiology, pathoanatomy, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of congenital vertical talus (CVT). CVT is a rigid flatfoot deformity where the talus is vertically oriented. Treatment involves serial casting to stretch soft tissues, with the goal of restoring normal anatomy. However, most cases require major reconstructive surgery like single-stage releases to reduce the talonavicular joint and correct contractures. Post-surgery, the anterior tibial tendon may be transferred to help stabilize and support the correction. Serial casting alone rarely achieves full correction of CVT.

1. SAIKRISHNA

2. Objectives-
Anatomy of foot
Introduction
Etiology
Pathoanatomy
Clinical presentation
Treatment modalities

3. Anatomy-
 Foot-bones:Tarsals-7
Metatarsals-5
Phalanges-14
Foot-hind foot
mid foot
fore foot
Joints-Ankle joint:15’DF,55’PF
-subtalar joint:inv 30’,ev-10’
-mid tarsal joint:Abd 10’;Add 15’

4. Talus-

5. CVT-
Congenital + vertical + talus
Term-1st used by:Heineken in 1914.
Several Synonyms-
Congenital convex pes valgus(CCPV)
Reverse club foot
congenital valgus flat foot
Rocker buttom foot
Talipes convex pes valgus

6.  Tachdjian describes as the “teratologic dorsolateral
dislocation of the talocalcaneonavicular joint.”
 Incidence 1 in 10,000
 Male=female
 B/L -50%
 Tachdjian M: Pediatric Orthopedics, vol 4. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, WB Saunders, 1990.
 Jacob sen ST,Crawford AH(1983)Congenital vertical talus.
J Pediatr Orthop 3:306–310

7.  CVT-fixed dorsal dislocation of the navicular on the
talar head and neck and fixed equinus contracture of
the hindfoot resulting in rigid flatfoot deformity.
 Idiopathic /or associated with other neuromuscular or
genetic disorder.
 Lamy L,Weissman L(1939)Congenital convex pes valgus. J Bone Joint Surg Am21:79

8.  Left untreaed –causes significant disability.
 Heel doesn’t touch the ground-pt forced to bear wt on
talar head;later on develop painful callosities and have
awkward gait with difficulty balancing .

9. Etiology-
 Exact etiology :unknown.
 Possible causes-Muscle imbalance;
Intrauterine compression
Arrest in fetal development betn 7th -12th wk
of POG
 Idiopathic-50%

10.  A/W -Neurological abnormalities-
arthrogryposis,myelomeningocoele,spinal muscular
atrophy,neurofibromatosis,cerebral palsy
-Genetic syndrome:trisomy 13,15 and 18
 A thorough neurological and genetic work up

11.  AD inheritance 12-20%
 Mutation in HOXD10
 Mutation in GDF5
 Syndromes-1.De barsy syndrome
2.Prune Belly syndrome
3.Costello syndrome
4.Rasmussen syndrome
 Iatrogenic

12. Patho-anatomy:
 “Kinematic coupling”
 Skeletal :
Talus-head and neck flattened
and medially deviated
- plantar flexed position
Calcaneum-plantar flexed and
externally rotated
Navicular- Displaced dorsally
and laterally;hypoplastic
Cuboid- in severe deformity
displaced laterally

14.  The medial tendons,the calcaneo navicular ligament
and the anterior fibres of the delta ligament are
elongated.
 Contractures are on the dorsolateral side and
include the peroneal tendons,the extensor
tendons,the calcaneofibular ligament,the talo-
navicular ligaments and the capsule of the ankle and
the subtalar joint.
 Drennan JC(1995)Congenital vertical talus.J Bone Joint Surg Am77:1916–1923

15.  Contracture of the TA,EHB,PL,PT,and AT
 Posterior tibial tendon and PB,PL-act as dorsiflexors
rather than plantiflexors.

16.  Vascular supply-dominated by DPA and ATA ;deficient
PTA.

17. Clinical presentation-
 Characterized by: Forefoot-abduction ;dorsiflexion
Hindfoot-equinus and valgus

18.  Plantar surface is convex-Rocker bottom appearance
 Deep creases on anterolateral aspect of foot
 Foot is everted into valgus and externally rotated
position

19.  Head of talus plantar medial aspect of midfoot
 Calcaneus is in equinus
 Palpable gap dorsally between navicular and talar
neck
 Left untreated –more rigid deformity and adaptive
changes in tarsal bones

20.  Callosities around the head of talus
 Heel doesn’t touch the ground ;shoewear becomes
difficult and pain is inevitable.

21. Classification-
1.Coleman-1st:isolated talonavicular dislocation
2nd-both talonavicular and calcaneocuboid
dislocation
Coleman SS,Stelling FH 3rd,Jarrett J(1970)Pathomechanics and treatment of congenital vertical talus .Clin Ortho
p70:62–72

22. 2.Ogata and schoenecker -Three group-
1-Idiopathic
2-A/W other abnormality but no neurological defecit
3.A/W neurological defecit
Clinical Orthopaedics (1979 )139:128–132

23. Oblique talus-
 less rigid,navicular will reduce on plantiflexion
 observation and /or casting

24. Radiographic features-
 Ossification –cuboid 1st month
cuneiform-2nd year
navicular-3rd year
 AP and lateral radiographs of foot in neutral position
 Lateral x-ray in forced dorsi and planti flexion of foot

25.  Measurements:-on lateral x-ray –
talocalcaneal; tibiocalcaneal, tibiotalar,talar axis 1st
metatarsal base angle(TAMBA)
In CVT-talar axis vertical,calcaneus in equinus and
increased talocalcaneal angle

27. Diagnosis :confirmed by-

28. Differentials-
 Calcaneovalgus foot deformity:
-foot is dorsiflexed
-no equinus contracture of calcaneus
-flexible foot
-forced plantar flexion lateral x-ray-normal
 Posteromedial bow of the tibia:calcaneovalgus foot,a
shortened and bowed tibia
 Oblique talus

29. Treatment-
 Goal:restore and maintain normal anatomic
relationship.

30.  As with the ponseti method of treatment of clubfoot
deformity
 Serial manipulations and casting-all deformities corrected
simultaneously except heel equinus

31. Manipulation-Reverse ponseti
technique
 In the OPD settings
 One parent beside the baby to offer a pacifier or bottle of
milk
 One assistant to either hold the corrected foot or apply
cast.
 If breastfeed-nursed before manipulation
 More relaxed the baby-better the cast that can be applied

32.  Supine on the clinic table with feet at the end of the
table
 Crucial-to palpate the head of talus:Plantar medial
aspect of midfoot

33.  The foot is stretched into plantar flexion and
inversion while counter pressure is applied to the
medial aspect of the head of the talus

34.  After a few minutes of manipulation,A/K cast applied
in two sections,with knee in 90’ of flexion
1st section-short leg cast extending from toes to just
distal to knee with foot in plantar flexion and
inversion
2nd stage-cast extended to A/K cast
 4-6 plaster cast is usually enough to achieve reduction
of the talonavicular joint

35.  Carefully mold the malleoli,head of the talus,above
the calcaneum and arch
 Avoid constant pressure at single point
 Cast changed on weekly basis

36.  Final cast –Maximum plantar flexion,inversion
 Foot simulates –clubfoot
 Lateral radigraph in PF;TAMBA<30’

37.  However, unlike clubfoot, essentially 100% of reported
vertical talus deformities have not been fully corrected
with cast immobilization alone and have required major
reconstructive surgery.
Dodge et al .Foot ankle .1987;7:326-32
Coleman et al clin orthop Relat Res 1970;70:62-72
J Bone Joint surg Br.1967;49:618-27

38.  Serial cast treatment of the foot is viewed as beneficial
for stretching the soft tissues and neurovascular
structures on the dorsum of the foot and ankle,thereby
decreasing the complexity of the operation.
J Pediatr Orthop. 1987;7:405-11
J Pediatr Orthop. 1983;3:306-10.

39.  However,unlike casting for clubfoot,serial casting for
congenital vertical talus has not been used until recently
as a method of achieving definitive correction.
J Bone Joint Surg Am(2006)88:1192–1200

40.  Major reconsructive surgeries-
-single stage releases
-two stage releases
-soft tissue releases with navicular excision
-Grice –green subtalar fusion after release

41.  Complications-talar necrosis
-wound necrosis
-stiffness of the ankle and subtalar
joint
- undercorrection of the deformity
-pseudoarthrosis
-needs of multiple surgeries
J Pediatr Orthop B. 2002;11:60-7
J Pediatr Orthop. 2001;21:212-7.
J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1952;34:927-40.

42.  Type of procedure-age of child
-severity of the deformity and
-surgeon preference
Upto age three open reduction of talonavicular joint.
-one stage /or two stage operation

43.  Many surgeries were described but most comminly used is
a single stage release at about 1 year of age.
 A modified Cincinnati incision is used with extension
across the dorsum of the foot as necessary to lengthen the
toe extensors and peroneals.
 There are 4 components to the release.
 1 stage– reduction of the navicular on the talus by release of
tibialis anterior tendon and tibionavicular and
talonavicular ligaments and capsule.
 The reduction is stabilised by pin placed across the
talonavicular joint and by reconstruction of the spring
ligament.

44.  The second stage is lengthening of the toe extensors
and peroneals to allow reduction of the fore foot.The
cuboid is reduced on the calcaneus with release of the
bifurcate ligament and calcaneocuboid joint capsule.
 The third stage is the release of equinus
contracture.lengthening of TA and division of ankle
and subtalar joint capsules.
 The fourth stage is transfer of tibialis anterior tendon
to the talus to dynamically stabilise the correction.

45.  In older children with resistant deformities excision of
the navicular may be necessary to achieve the first step
of correction.

46. Modified cincinnati incision-

48. Single stage repair-
 Three incisions-

49.  Through DL approach-calcaneocuboid joint inspected
and reduced
 Medially,dorsal talonavicular ligament
(deltoid)divided and capsulotomy of talonavicular
joint done; reduced and transfixed with k-wire.

50.  Postriorly,Z-lengthening of Achilles tendon with
distal transverse cut directed laterally.
 Check lateral x-ray:
1st metatarsal axis should line up exactly with long axis
of talus

51.  Origin of Anterior tibial tendon released and transfer
it to the mid talar neck using a drill hole and sewing it
to itself.
 Similarly posterior tibial tendon, is sewed beneath the
talar head and neck to assist in support.

52.  The single-stage surgical correction resulted in good
results with a low rate of complications.
 The Cincinnati incision provided excellent exposure to
the pathoanatomy to allow complete correction of the
plantarflexed vertical talus, reduction of the
talonavicular dislocation, and realignment of the
equinovalgus deformity of the calcaneus.
 Kodros, Steven A. M.D.*; Dias, Luciano S. M.D. Single-Stage Surgical Correction of Congenital
Vertical Talus. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics; 19(1), January/February 1999, pp 42-48

53. Bony procedures-
1)Wedge from navicular (WN),
2)Naviculectomy (NE),
3)Naviculectomy,extensive release and tendon transfer
procedures (NERTT),
4)Subtalar / triple arthrodesis (STA).

54.  The technique of choice in a child younger than 2 years
of age is -extensive release with lengthening of
tendons and fixation procedures.
 In a child over 2 years of age,extensive release with
tendon transfer is the preferred procedure.
 When this procedure has failed,naviculectomy with
extensive release and tendon transfer,or subtalar /
triple arthrodesis must be considered

56. Acta Orthopædica Belgica, Vol.73 - 3 - 2007

57.  Most authors agree that the disorder should be
recognised at birth and treated before the age of 2.
 If treatment is delayed beyond 2 years of age,more
aggressive procedures must be employed.
J Foot Ankle Surg 2001; 40:166-171.

58. Matthew B Dobbs
 Minimally invasive approach toward the treatment
of CVT.

59.  Between 2000 to 2003, at St. Louis Children’s Hospital
& University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ;Dobbs et
al treated 11 cases (19 feet) of idiopathic CVT by:
-serial manipulation and casting(reverse ponseti
technique),
-percutaneous fixation of talonavicular joint using k-
wire and
- percutaneous Achilles tenotomy.

60. Dobbs minimally invasive
technique
 Even after 6 cast talonavicular joint is not seen to be
reduced (TAMBA>30) then an attempt is made in the
operating room to lever the talus into position
percutaneously with a k-wire placed into the talus in a
retrograde manner.
 If this is successful, the talonavicular joint is held with
k-wire.

61. Dobbs minimally invasive
technique
 If the talonavicular joint not reduced closed,a small
medial incision is made and dorsal capsulectomy of
talonavicular joint was done to reduce the joint.
 Fractional lengthening of tibialis anterior and
peroneus brevis tendon.

62.  Once talonavicular joint reduced and fixed with k-wire
percutaneous tenotomy was done.

63. Dobbs Post op protocol
 After tenotomy,a long leg cast :foot –neutral
Ankle 5’ DF
 Cast changed at 2 weeks (Mold is made for solid AFO
with 15’ of PF at midtarsal joint)
 A long leg cast –ankle in 10-15’DF x 3 weeks
 After 5 wks;cast removed and k-wire pulled

64.  The solid orthoses is applied and parents are
instructed regarding exercise and ankle ROM.
 Orthoses is worn for 23 hrs a day until walking age.
 Then 12-14 hrs a day until the age of 2 years.
 After bracing every 3 monthly until age of 2 yrs
 Then every 6 month-1 yr until age of 7 yrs
 After 7,once every 2 yr until skeletal maturity is
reached

65. Routine follow up assessment
 Both clinical and radiological parameter.
 Clinical-1.ankle and subtalar movement
2.cosmetic appearance
3.loss of the medial arch
4.medial prominence of the talar head
5.hind foot valgus
6 .abnormal shoe wear

66.  Radiological –anteroposterior:
1.talocalcaneal –hindfoot valgus
2.TAMBA-forefoot abduction
lateral:
1.talocalcaneal
2.tibiocalcaneal
3.TAMBA

67. Thank you!!!!!!!!