Total Ankle Replacement

The ankle joint is formed as a connection between the lower leg bones (tibia and fibula) and the bones of the foot (Talus). It is a perfect hinge joint allowing the movement of the foot.

Components that make up the ankle joint can be divided into:

• Ligaments and Tendons
  • Secure the joining of the bones and proper alignment, tendon provides muscle attachment.
• Muscles
  • Facilitate the movement of the joint
• Vessels and nerves surround the ankle joint, delivering nutrition to the joint structures, and relay sensations to the central nervous system.
• Bony Structures
  • Provide the skeletal framework of the joint.

The STAR™ Ankle is used world-wide for more ankle replacements than any other device. It has a long clinical history – the current design has been in use for over 20 years, and prior generations of the STAR were approved for use as early as 1978. The STAR is the only 3-piece mobile bearing total ankle available in the United States, as approval for such a device in the US requires a rigorous FDA PMA process that is very expensive and time-consuming. The process to get the STAR approved took nearly 10 years, and was approved in 2009.

The STAR has been well documented and analyzed in papers. 85% of papers analyzing commonly used total ankle devices in the United States focus on the STAR. One of the best ways to understand the effectiveness of joint replacements is to consider a statistic called the ‘survivability’ of the implant – which is the likelihood that a device will remain implanted for a particular number of years. The STAR has been shown in clinical papers to have a 90% likelihood to remain implanted for 10 years. No other total ankle replacement approved for use in the US has published any survivability information for their implants.