[Calcaneal fractures: CT aspects].

Calcaneal fractures account for 33.3% of foot fractures and 1.5% of all fractures. They were divided by Warrick and Brenner into two main groups according to whether they modify the astragalocalcaneal joint or not. Given the anatomical complexity of the foot, conventional X-rays are not always able to correctly visualize the articular facets and therefore provide insufficient information as to the characteristics of the fracture line, the position of bone fragments, and the involvement of capsulo-ligamentous structures. The authors report their personal experience with CT in the study of 12 patients with monolateral calcaneal fractures previously diagnosed on conventional X-rays. High-resolution CT (HRCT) was employed with 3-mm contiguous sections on the axial and the coronal planes. CT was used to study the normal anatomy of the foot and to evaluate 3 patients with calcaneal fracture without impaction of the posterior facet; 9 patients with impaction into the calcaneal body were also examined with CT. In the first 3 cases, an oblique fracture line was observed crossing from craniolateral to mediocaudal and thus dividing the calcaneus into 2 large fragments: sustentaculum tali and posterior facet of the talar joint. In the extant 9 cases the impaction of the posterior facet was indicated by an interruption in lateral and/or medial calcaneal walls. In 2/9 cases bone fragments were seen in the tarsal sinus, in 4/9 the sustentacular fragment was displaced, in 2 the cuboid bone was impacted into the anterior process of the calcaneus and, finally, in 7/9 cases a lateral/medial dislocation of the calcaneal tuberosity was observed. On the basis of these results, CT proved to be of greater value than conventional X-rays in the imaging of calcaneal fractures and to have a fundamental role every time an accurate evaluation of the region is needed to plan treatment.