Closed subtalar dislocation with non-displaced fractures of talus and navicular: a case report and review of the literature

Closed subtalar dislocations associated with talus and navicular fractures are rare injuries. We report on a case of a 43-year-old builder man with medial subtalar dislocation that was further complicated by minimally displaced talar and navicular fractures. Successful closed reduction under general anesthesia was followed by non-weight bearing and ankle immobilization with a below-knee cast for 6 ;weeks. At 3 years post-injury, the subtalar joint was stable, the foot and ankle mobility was in normal limits and the patient could still work as a builder. However, he complained for occasionally mild pain due to the development of post-traumatic arthritis in subtalar and ankle joints. Our search in literature revealed that conservative treatment of all the successfully reduced and minimally displaced subtalar fracture-dislocations has given superior results compared to surgical management. However, even in cases with no or slight fracture displacement, avascular necrosis of the talus or arthritis of the surrounding joints can compromise the final functional outcome.