The first metatarsophalangeal joint is the most common location for
arthritis in the foot.
Pain and limited mobility associated with
arthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint are the hallmarks of this disease. Treatments include shoe modification,
orthotic devices, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,
injections,
physical therapy, and surgery. Surgery has been the most perplexing, with surgical treatments ranging from simple ostectomies to fusion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. Implant
arthroplasty, with its various designs and techniques, has yet to be proven as the definitive
solution for first metatarsophalangeal joint
arthritis or
hallux limitus (unlike the knee and hip). Interpositional
arthroplasty and tissue-engineered cartilage grafts also have limitations when dealing with
osteoarthritis and
hallux limitus of the first metatarsophalangeal joint. In this case report, we present a 45-year-old woman with
arthritis of the left first metatarsophalangeal joint who underwent surgical intervention by means of a frozen osteochondral allograft transplant to the first metatarsal head.