Foot and Ankle

Hallux Rigidus and Friebergs Disease

Hallux Rigidus is an arthritic condition in the great toe that leads to pain and stiffness. A typical course of surgical treatment is a chielectomy followed by fusion of the joint if pain persists. Friebergs Disease involves a loss of blood supply to the metatarsal head, leading to eventual collapse of the joint surface.

Fusion in the forefoot provides effective pain relief, but it restricts activities such as running and the wearing of high heeled shoes. The ability to preserve motion and obtain pain relief is understandably appealing to many surgeons and patients, and as a consequence the Arthrosurface MTP implant has quickly become established as the UK’s primary joint replacement option for the forefoot.

The HemiCAP MTP resurfacing implant requires very minimal bone resection (approximately 2mm is reamed from the metatarsal head) and it restores the natural curvature of the joint surface through the simple intra-operative mapping technique. It is a conservative choice that can be converted to a fusion without any need for bone grafting.

Four year results of the HemiCAP MTP resurfacing were presented at AAOS 2009, and these show that the implant delivers consistently good patient outcomes. The clinical follow up has also been presented in the UK at the last two annual meetings of the British Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society.

If you would like to know more about the implant, please follow the Arthrosurface link to the right hand side of this page. If you are a clinician, please contact your local NorthStar Area Manager.