What is the Total Ankle Arthroplasty Experience of Podiatric Foot and Ankle Surgery Fellows? A National Survey.

Abstract

In 2011, the Council of Podiatric Medical Education, the accrediting body of the American Podiatric Medical Association, approved the conversion of all Podiatric Residencies to 3-year surgical programs. In 2012, there were 12 podiatric fellowships recognized by the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. To date, there are 53 programs listed under the college's website. As podiatric fellowships expand, further research is needed to identify advantages and pitfalls of fellowship training. Our primary aim was to obtain current fellow survey data to enhance our understanding of podiatric reconstructive foot and ankle surgery fellowship training programs. In doing so, we decided to use one of the most salient topics in fellowship training- Total Ankle Replacement. Invitation was administered by email and 73.6% of active reconstructive 2023-24 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons postgraduate fellows responded. Fellowship total ankle replacement case volume was significantly greater than residency (p = 0.037). Completion of 0-5 total ankle replacement(s) was 30.8%, and greater than 30 in 17.9% of fellows. Fifty nine percent reported feeling "comfortable" or "very comfortable" with total ankle arthroplasty. Patient specific instrumentation was used in a majority of cases (66.7%). Over three fourths (79.8%) of fellows stated they planned on performing TAR as an attending surgeon after their fellowship. Despite its limitations, we hope our survey data can aid graduating and previous fellows and add to the body of knowledge for future TAR educational programs and industry involvement. As podiatric fellowships continue to transform, so too must our research efforts to track progress.