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MRI in patients with Haglund’s deformity and its influence on therapy

  • Orthopaedic Surgery
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Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Heel pain is one of the common reasons why patients consult orthopaedic surgeons in an outpatient setting. The dorsal heel pain is often caused by a Haglund’s deformity which is an exostosis of the posterior superior calcaneus. It often leads to Haglund’s syndrome with calcaneal bursitis and Achilles tendinosis. This study aims to investigate the roll of MRI in diagnosis of Haglund’s syndrome and its influence on therapy.

Materials and methods

We retrospectively analysed data of 45 patients which clinically and radiologically confirmed Haglund’s deformity. Patients were divided into two groups that either did not receive MRI (MRI_0) or received MRI (MRI_1). To evaluate the significance, Fisher´s test was used. A statistical significance was assumed at p < 0.05.

Results

The average age was 57.0 years. There was no significant difference in therapy comparing the groups MRI_0 and MRI_1. Haglund’s syndrome was detected in 86.7% of all patients with Haglund’s deformity.

Conclusion

MRI does not influence the therapy of patients with Haglund’s deformity. Therefore, the resources of this cost-intensive and limited type of investigation should be used elsewhere. In cases of atypical heel pain, the MRI might be useful.

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Correspondence to Florian Debus.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Debus, F., Eberhard, HJ., Olivieri, M. et al. MRI in patients with Haglund’s deformity and its influence on therapy. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 139, 903–906 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-019-03122-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-019-03122-w

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