Background: It has been reported that the operative outcome of tarsal tunnel syndrome caused by space-occupying lesions is more favorable than those caused by other reasons. The purpose of this clinical study was to report our clinical results after surgical treatment for tarsal tunnel syndrome caused by benign space-occupying lesions.
Materials and methods: From July 2004 to February 2007, 20 patients underwent surgical decompression for tarsal tunnel syndrome in our institution. Out of them, 13 cases were due to space-occupying lesions around the tarsal tunnel. The average age was 51.3 and the mean symptom duration was 16.5 months. The operation included complete release of the tarsal tunnel and removal of the space-occupying lesion. The clinical outcomes measured were a pain visual analogue scale (VAS), AOFAS score and the degree of subjective satisfaction.
Results: Ganglion was the most frequent cause (10 cases). Other pathologies included synovial chondromatosis, a Schwannoma and a talocalcaneal coalition. There was a significant improvement after surgery in term of VAS (6.4/2.2) and AOFAS score (77.8/92.7). Seven of 13 were satisfied with the results, three felt they had a fair result, and three were dissatisfied.
Conclusion: Though significant improvement was found in the average VAS and AOFAS score, subjective satisfaction was less favorable (54%) than expected. We believe surgeons should be more cautious concerning outcomes when expectations of surgery are discussed with patients.