So you have flatfeet and you have tried orthotics, insoles and braces. Heck, you have tried Physical Therapy and exercises as well and you are now at your wits end. Sometimes you can try conservative treatment for years and see no success. You might even have trouble just walking for more than one hour of your feet. Flatfeet Sucks, it just does. Operations for flatfeet are far from a sure thing at having success. Flatfeet operations to restore an arch hover in the 60-70% ratio of success. There also a myriad of operations available. Some have high success rates; some have low success rates. There is no magical bullet when it comes to flatfeet surgery. A list of surgical operations available for flatfeet:
1. Calcaneal Osteotmy
2. Subtalar and Talo Naviular fusions
3. Triple Arthrodesis
4. Tendon Transfers and lengthenings
These operations have positive and negative aspects associated with their performance. Some can be very successful, others not so. The fact is certain operations have to be tailored for the patient and their issues which requires a long arduous exam. These are not easy answers to arrive at. However, there is one operation for treating flatfeet that generally has poor results that is used regularly despite these poor results. The operation is Subtalar Arthroesis. This operation involves placing an implant within the Subtalar joint to help support the arch and prevent the foot from flattening.
The problem with Subtalar Athroesis is it doesnt work. This operation has been tried multiple times throughout the years where it was called an MBA implant or Hypocure. Doesn’t matter. There has not been one single independent study saying that these operations are successful in treating flatfeet, not one. The only studies that ever say these operations work are always funded by the company offering the implant.
So why do Podiatrists perform Subatalar Athroesis?
Simple: money. It’s a simple surgical procedure for flatfeet that poorly trained surgeons can perform and earn money for. Additionally, because of the high failure rate the surgeon can later bill for the surgical removal of the implant. The only positive side is that even if doesn’t work there are rarely severe side effects other than wasting a year or two of your life on something that had no chance. Sure it can increase degradation and arthritis in the Subtalar joint. It’s surgery so there is always the risk of infection. But by and large most Podiatrists see it as a win-win for them; easy money with no risk. Suffice to say if you have this operation you should be a lot more angry at the surgeon performing the operation than the device company, whether it be Hypocure or MBA or BioPro.