What is the prevalence of plantar tendon used as tendon graft in the Somali population?

The plantar muscle is fusiform, attaching to the calcaneus, starting behind the knee. Plantaris muscle formation has been reported in humans at a rate approaching 90%. It is frequently preferred for tendon grafting and tendon transfer in hand surgery and Achilles tendon injuries. In this study, our goal is to investigate the frequency of the presence of the plantar muscle in the Somali population. We retrospectively analyzed 607 knee MRI scans performed at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital in Mogadishu between January 2019 and March 2022. The clinical and demographic characteristics of the patients were recorded. Patients with muscle trauma and previous surgery involving muscles, proximal tibia fracture surgery, and soft tissue tumors were dropped out of the study. 469 (77.3%) of these patients were male and 138 (22.7%) were female.182 (72%) of the male patients with right MRI saw plantaris while 68 (28%) did not. While plantaris was seen in 183 (83.5%) of the male patients who underwent left-sided MRI, plantaris was not seen in 30 (16.5%). Plantaris was seen in 62 (79.5%) of the female patients who had right-sided MRI, while plantaris was not seen in 16 (20.5%). Left plantar was present in 55 (91.7%) and absent in 5 (8.3%) female patients who underwent left-sided MRI. Since the plantaris muscle is used as a tendon graft, pre-op evaluation of its presence is important in terms of surgery and can change the surgical procedure. The presence of the plantar tendon can be revealed by using knee MRI in the Somali population living in the African continent.