Early results with use of the midfoot fusion bolt in Charcot arthropathy.

Charcot neuroarthropathy is a complicated condition affecting up to 1 in 680 diabetic patients that can rapidly cause severe destruction of the bony architecture in the foot, with resultant gross instability and frank deformity. Conservative care is not always successful at maintaining an intact soft tissue envelope of the foot; therefore, surgical reconstruction is often attempted in an effort to salvage the limb. The goal is to create a stable, plantigrade foot that can be placed in a shoe or simple brace.