Abstract
1. Recurrence of deformity after operations for drop foot is often associated with opening of the front of the ankle joint: this has previously been regarded as a complication of the operation.
2. This study of sixty paralytic drop feet treated conservatively reveals that this laxity was in fact present in no less than 43 per cent.
3. The laxity is most commonly found when the calf muscle is strong and it can occur within a year of the onset of the paralysis. It is not always prevented by wearing a toe-raising spring.
4. Such anterior laxity may well be a common cause of failure of many of the standard operations for drop foot.
5. Before operation for drop foot is undertaken a lateral radiograph of the ankle should be taken in forced plantar-flexiori. If this demonstrates anterior laxity any standard operation is unlikely to succeed unless the anterior fibres of the collateral ligaments are protected from strain by simultaneous tendon transplantation or unless the ankle is included in the arthrodesis.
