The early functional outcome of Mau osteotomy for the correction of moderate-severe hallux valgus

Hallux valgus is one of the commonest conditions of the foot and has been reported to affect nearly half of the adult population. It is most effectively treated by a corrective osteotomy of which there a numerous subtypes. The Mau osteotomy confers the greatest structural stability but is not thought to provide adequate correction of moderate-severe deformities. Accordingly, complications such as under correction and non-union are common. The aim of this study was to determine the functional outcome in patients with moderate-severe hallux valgus following a Mau osteotomy. A retrospective review of 23 patients with moderate-severe hallux valgus treated by Mau osteotomy was conducted. Patients were assessed clinically by the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scoring system and radiologically by measuring the first intermetatarsal (IM) and hallux abductovalgus angles (HAV). The mean AOFAS score had improved from 47 preoperatively to 92 postoperatively (P<0.01). Additionally, preoperative HAV and IM angles improved from 39o and 15o respectively to 15o and 9o respectively (P<0.01). There were no cases of undercorrection or non-union. In this series, the Mau osteotomy was able to achieve good correction of the IM and HAV angles in patients with moderate-severe hallux valgus. This was reflected in a significantly higher postoperative AOFAS score. Contrary to other studies there were no cases of undercorrection and despite allowing patients to fully weight-bear postoperatively there were no cases of non-union.