Plain-English translation Foot & Ankle Trauma
DOI 10.2174/1874325001913010189
Royal College British Orthopaedic AO Trauma Churchill Limb Recon Specialist Reg.

Jeyaseelan L, Malagelada F, Parker L, Panagopoulos A, Heidari N, Vris A. Intra-Operative 3-Dimensional Imaging (O-arm) in Foot and Ankle Trauma Surgery: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature. The Open Orthopaedics Journal, 2019.

Intra-Operative 3-Dimensional Imaging (O-arm) in Foot and Ankle Trauma Surgery: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature

Jeyaseelan L, Malagelada F, Parker L, Panagopoulos A, Heidari N, Vris A. — Heidari N: Co-author

This is a plain-English translation of the academic paper above, prepared for patients, referring clinicians, and other non-specialist readers. It preserves the structure of the original paper while removing technical jargon. For the full clinical paper, follow the PubMed or DOI links.

Background

Whether a 3D scanner brought into the operating theatre — the O-arm — could change what surgeons did during foot and ankle fracture surgery, compared to relying on the standard flat (2D) x-ray images that have been used for decades. We describe two patients in detail and review the wider published evidence.

Rationale

Routine theatre x-rays show only one plane at a time. Foot and ankle fractures often involve curved joint surfaces that are hard to assess from these images alone — meaning small misalignments can be missed and only become apparent on a CT scan after the patient has woken up. By that point a second operation is needed to correct them. A scanner that can take a 3D image during surgery could let the surgeon spot and correct these errors before closing.

Results

In both cases, the O-arm scan revealed a problem the standard 2D images had missed — either the fracture had not been fully reduced, or the position of the implant needed adjusting. The surgeon was able to revise the fixation in the same operation. Both patients then healed without complication and had good functional scores at one year.

Implications

For complex foot and ankle fractures involving the joint surface, intra-operative 3D imaging is a useful tool that may avoid second operations to correct subtle errors. The technology is not yet routine in every hospital and adds time and cost. As 3D scanners become more available, surgeons may increasingly choose them for these difficult fracture patterns.

Source: Jeyaseelan L, Malagelada F, Parker L, Panagopoulos A, Heidari N, Vris A. Intra-Operative 3-Dimensional Imaging (O-arm) in Foot and Ankle Trauma Surgery: Report of 2 Cases and Review of the Literature. The Open Orthopaedics Journal 2019. doi:10.2174/1874325001913010189

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