Is Histopathological Analysis of Interdigital Morton's Neuroma Necessary?

BACKGROUND: Interdigital neuroma (IN), otherwise known as Morton's neuroma, is a common cause of metatarsalgia presenting to the elective foot and ankle clinic. Surgical excision of the IN in patients who fail to respond to nonoperative measures is considered to be the gold standard of care in many centers. The Royal College of Pathologists UK recommend that all excised interdigital Morton's neuromas are sent for formal histopathological analysis. We present a study correlating clinical and radiological diagnosis with histopathologic appearances of IN following surgical excision, and question if routine histopathological analysis is warranted. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in a single center. Ninety-six operative records were reviewed to identify all the cases of IN surgically resected between January 2007 and July 2016. The histopathology result of the resected IN specimen, that had a clinical and radiological diagnosis of IN, was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 85 patients met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. We found that 100% of patients with a clinical, radiographic, and intraoperative diagnosis of a Morton's neuroma had a histopathological report confirming a Morton's interdigital neuroma. CONCLUSION: In our single-surgeon series, histopathologic diagnosis is in complete agreement with clinical and radiological diagnosis. We therefore recommend that routine histopathological analysis of IN is not necessary, saving resources and providing a cost benefit. Histopathologic examination should be reserved only in cases where intraoperative findings do not concur with clinical and radiological features. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Level IV: Case series.

An accurate method of determining a single-plane osteotomy to correct a combined rotational and angular deformity.

Conventional osteotomy used for the correction of deformity is performed out of the plane of deformity creating a wedge either opening or closing when the deformity is corrected. Deformity that is a combination of rotation and angulation exists in a single plane that is oblique to the coronal, sagittal and axial planes depending on the magnitude of deformity measured in each plane. Accurate planning and a simple method of finding this oblique plane operatively is presented. This method starts by finding the bisector of angulation. This is marked by a wire that lies in the plane of angulation and along the bisector of angulation. The saw blade is rotated about this bisector axis according to the proportion of angulation and rotation. There is no second reorientation of the saw blade required making the final plane much easier to define. This single-plane oblique osteotomy allows accurate realignment of the limb.

Optimizing knee arthroscopy documentation using a new template.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the study was to assess the quality of documentation of knee arthroscopy and evaluate the implementation of a novel operative template. METHOD: A 34-point assessment was undertaken based on published national guidelines. A retrospective study of 50 operative notes of patients (group A) undergoing knee arthroscopy was completed. A new operative note template was devised to include important criteria and assessed in 49 patients (group B) for its efficacy in providing appropriately detailed findings. RESULTS: Group A was lacking the minimum essential documentation standards expected. Some essential criteria for arthroscopic procedures were as low as 4%. Group B showed a statistically significant increase (P<0.001) in documentation accuracy throughout the essential criteria compared to the findings in group A. CONCLUSIONS: The authors conclude that the use of an evidence-based operative template for knee arthroscopy significantly improves the quality and accuracy of documentation compared to conventional free-hand operative notes.