Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of a Tibial Precut Technique for Severe Varus Deformity in Transfibular Total Ankle Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Case Series

Background: Achieving orthogonal coronal-plane alignment in total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) remains challenging in cases with severe varus deformity. We developed a novel tibial precutting technique for use in transfibular TAA to resolve intra-articular bony conflict and enable accurate implant placement without excessive medial soft tissue release. Methods: This technique involves a controlled resection of the lateral distal tibia to eliminate impingement between the tibial plafond and talar dome. From November 2019 to June 2022, 15 patients with coronal varus deformities >15° underwent transfibular TAA using this method. Twelve patients with ≥2 years of follow-up were retrospectively evaluated. Coronal alignment was assessed using the tibiotalar angle (TTA) on weight-bearing radiographs. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Self-Administered Foot Evaluation Questionnaire (SAFE-Q) and ankle range of motion (ROM) before surgery and at final follow-up. Results: The median TTA significantly improved from 20.4° (IQR: 18.1–24.3) preoperatively to 1.8° (IQR: 0.9–3.6) at the latest follow-up (p < 0.01), indicating successful correction to neutral alignment. All SAFE-Q subscales showed statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05), and ankle ROM also increased significantly postoperatively (p < 0.05). No cases of talar subsidence, implant lucency, fibular non-union, or avascular necrosis were observed. Conclusions: These results indicate that the TIBIA #2 technique can broaden the indications for transfibular total ankle arthroplasty in severe varus deformity while delivering meaningful clinical benefit. Nevertheless, confirmation in larger, controlled, and multi-centre cohorts is required before widespread adoption.