A cohort study of systemic and local complications of toe prostheses.

We investigated the role of toe implants in systemic disease and evaluated local complications after foot surgery. Information was obtained from the medical records of Kaiser Permanente (northern California) patients who had undergone toe surgery between 1979 and 1988. Computerized hospitalization records were used to identify patients with toe implants (N=814) and matched controls with foot surgery not involving implants (N=837). Brain cancer and alopecia areata occurred more among implant patients, whereas dysphagia occurred more among nonimplant patients. A larger proportion of implant patients were diagnosed with pain and swelling, tendonitis, and osteomyelitis or periostitis. Nonimplant patients were more often diagnosed with derangement of foot or ankle and delayed postoperative healing. We did not find a general association between implants and connective tissue diseases.