Total Ankle Arthroplasty (TAA) versus Ankle Arthrodesis (AA): Insights From Germany

by Vince Vacketta, DPM

Another retrospective comparative study has been published, this time using a German insurance database to evaluate TAA versus AA. In this 10-year study, Kostuj, T. et al. evaluated unplanned reoperation rates, revision rates, and risk factors for unplanned reoperation in patients undergoing TAA or AA. 

Headline data from the study show reoperation rates of 19% for AA and 38% for TAA at the 10-year mark. In contrast, a Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed more favorable outcomes, with an average unplanned reoperation-free time of approximately 17 years for both procedures. Refer to the full breakdown here.

Trending in the right direction

More interestingly, when the authors divided their subjects into “early” and “late” cohorts based on five-year intervals, they observed trends toward greater use of TAA compared to AA. This data supports findings from similar investigations, suggesting that as we collectively surpass the TAA learning curve, its prevalence and success rates are increasingly comparable to those of AA.