Evaluating Tibialis Posterior Transfer: A Surgical Approach to Residual Clubfoot in Children Over Two Years at TOBRUK MEDICAL CENTER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54361/LJMR.19.1.26Keywords:
Clubfoot, congenital deformity, Tibialis Posterior Transfer, abnormal tarsal relationships, muscle balance, functional mobility, weight-bearingAbstract
Clubfoot is a congenital condition where tendons on the medial aspect of the leg and ankle become shortened and tightened, including the Achilles tendon. If left untreated, the child may appear to walk on their ankles or the sides of their feet. In severe cases, the foot may appear upside down. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Tibialis Posterior Transfer technique in correcting abnormal tarsal relationships, maintaining reduction, and establishing muscle balance to provide functional mobility and weight-bearing ability. This descriptive study was conducted on 60 clubfeet in patients aged 2 to 10 years, with an average age of 5 years. The study was carried out from January 2016 to December 2020, with a maximum follow-up period ranging from 3 to 4 years. Among the cases, 36 involved the right foot, 11 the left foot, and 13 were bilateral. The selection criteria included cases aged over two years, neglected cases, residual deformities after conservative treatment, and cases with previously failed surgical procedures. Good results were observed in 49 cases (81.6%), while 7 cases had residual metatarsus adductus, 2 cases experienced overcorrection leading to calcaneovalgus deformity, and another 2 cases were complicated by wound dehiscence. The PMR Turco Technique and Tibialis Posterior Transfer provided excellent exposure to the subtalar and posteromedial structures without major wound healing complications. This technique not only improved foot function but also offered a more cosmetic outcome, making it a preferable surgical intervention for clubfoot management in children above the age of two, especially in cases of residual deformities following failed conservative or surgical treatment
Downloads
References
1. De Hoedt AM. Clubfoot image classification [dissertation]. Iowa City (IA): University of Iowa; 2013. Available from: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4836
2. Maranho DAC, Volpon JB. Congenital clubfoot. 2011;19(3):163–9.
3. Dietz F. The genetics of idiopathic clubfoot. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2002 Aug 1;401:39–48.
4. Bridgens J, Kiely N. Current management of clubfoot (congenital talipes equinovarus). BMJ. 2010 Feb 2;340:c355.
5. Cooke S, Balain B, Kerin C, Kiely S. Clubfoot. Orthop Trauma. 2008;22(1):139–49.
6. Chung CS, Nemechek RW, Larsen IJ, Ching GH. Genetic and epidemiological studies of clubfoot in Hawaii. Hum Hered. 1969;19:321–42.
7. Kruse LM, Dobbs MB, Gurnett CA. Polygenic threshold model with sex dimorphism in clubfoot inheritance: the Carter effect. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2008 Dec 1;90(12):2688.
8. Africa Clubfoot Training Project. Chapter 2: Africa Clubfoot Training Basic & Advanced Clubfoot Treatment Provider Courses—Participant Manual. Oxford (UK): Africa Clubfoot Training Project; 2017.
9. Diepstraten AFM. Congenital clubfoot. Acta Orthop Scand. 1996;67(3):305–12. doi: 10.3109/17453679608994698.
10. Carroll NC, McMurtry R, Leete SF. The pathoanatomy of congenital clubfoot. Orthop Clin North Am. 1978;9:225–31.
11. Irani RN, Sherman MS. The pathological anatomy of idiopathic clubfoot. Clin Orthop. 1972;84:14–20.
12. Diepstraten AFM. Congenital clubfoot. Acta Orthop Scand. 1996;67(3):305–12. doi: 10.3109/17453679608994698.
13. Turco VJ. Surgical correction of the resistant clubfoot. One-stage posteromedial release with internal fixation. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1971;53:477–97.
14. Gunn IDR, Mollesworth BD. The use of tibialis posterior as a dorsiflexor. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1957;39-B:674.
15. Simons GW. Complete subtalar release in clubfeet: Part I. A preliminary report. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1985;67:1044–55.
16. Turco VJ. Resistant congenital clubfoot—one-stage posteromedial release with internal fixation: A follow-up report of a fifteen-year experience. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1979;61:805–14.
17. Singer M, Fripp AT. Tibialis anterior transfer in congenital clubfoot. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1958;40-B:252.
18. Brockman EP. Congenital club-foot. Bristol (UK): John Wright & Sons Ltd; 1930.
19. Fried A. Recurrent congenital clubfoot. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1959 Mar;41(2):243–52.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ebrahim Masawd Elfakhri, Arhoma Yahya Mohammed, Abdulrahman Manghoush , Ahmed S. Mikael (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Open Access Policy
Libyan journal of medical Research (LJMR).is an open journal, therefore there are no fees required for downloading any publication from the journal website by authors, readers, and institution.
The journal applies the license of CC BY (a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license). This license allows authors to keep ownership f the copyright of their papers. But this license permits any user to download , print out, extract, reuse, archive, and distribute the article, so long as appropriate credit is given to the authors and the source of the work.
The license ensures that the article will be available as widely as possible and that the article can be included in any scientific archive.
Editorial Policy
The publication of an article in a peer reviewed journal is an essential model for Libyan journal of medical Research (LJMR). It is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editorial, the peer reviewer and the publisher.
Any manuscript or substantial parts of it, submitted to the journal must not be under consideration by any other journal. In general, the manuscript should not have already been published in any journal or other citable form, although it may have been deposited on a preprint server. Authors are required to ensure that no material submitted as part of a manuscript infringes existing copyrights, or the rights of a third party.
Authorship Policy
The manuscript authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution and intellectual input to the research submitted to the journal, including design, performance, interpretation of the reported study, and writing the manuscript. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors.
Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the manuscript but without intellectual input should only be recognized in the acknowledgements section of the manuscript. Also, one of the authors should be selected as the corresponding author to communicate with the journal and approve the final version of the manuscript for publication in the LJMR.
Peer-review Policy
- All the manuscripts submitted to LJMR will be subjected to the double-blinded peer-review process;
- The manuscript will be reviewed by two suitable experts in the respective subject area.
- Reports of all the reviewers will be considered while deciding on acceptance/revision or rejection of a manuscript.
- Editor-In-Chief will make the final decision, based on the reviewer’s comments.
- Editor-In-Chief can ask one or more advisory board members for their suggestions upon a manuscript, before making the final decision.
- Associate editor and review editors provide administrative support to maintain the integrity of the peer-review process.
- In case, authors challenge the editor’s negative decision with suitable arguments, the manuscript can be sent to one more reviewer and the final decision will be made based upon his recommendations.