Complications of metatarsal suture techniques for bunion correction: a systematic review of the literature

To better understand the safety of suture techniques to reduce the intermetatarsal angle in patients with hallux valgus deformity, we undertook a systematic review of the complications associated with the use of this technique. The suture procedures of 197 patients were analyzed for complications. The number of complications in the total group (n = 197) at a pooled mean follow-up period of 23.2 months was 39 (19.8%) and included 21 fractures (10.7%), 11 cases of hardware failure (5.6%), and 7 cases of hallux varus (3.6%). The cohort of patients was further categorized by the specific procedure technique. The number of complications in the Mini TightRope(®) group (n = 132) at a pooled mean follow-up period of 16.2 months was 33 (25%) and included 18 fractures (13.6%), 10 cases of hardware failure (7.6%), and 5 cases of hallux varus (3.8%). The number of complications in the syndesmosis technique group (n = 65) at a pooled mean follow-up period of 56.1 months was 6 (9.2%) and included 3 fractures (5%), 1 case of hardware failure (1.5%), and 2 cases of hallux varus (3%). From our review of the published experience with this technique, a high complication rate can be expected.