Researchers from University of Utah Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Post-Operative Complications (Study of Total Ankle Arthroplasty and Ankle Arthrodesis Complications and Costs Based on Surgeon Specialty): Post-Operative Complications

2026 JUL 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Data detailed on Post-Operative Complications have been presented. According to news reporting out of Salt Lake City, Utah, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) and ankle arthrodesis (AA) remain viable treatment options for end-stage ankle arthritis. Both procedures are performed by orthopaedic surgeons and podiatric surgeons.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Utah, “The literature comparing outcomes based on surgeon specialty is sparse. In this study, we studied postoperative outcomes for both TAA and AA based on surgeon specialty in a Medicare cohort of both fee-for-service and health maintenance organization claims. Our primary outcome was surgical complications, and secondary outcome was 90-day episode-of-care costs, based on surgeon specialty. We performed a retrospective analysis of Medicare claims from 2016 to 2021 for beneficiaries aged 65 years or older who underwent either TAA or AA. Surgeon specialty was identified using specialty taxonomy codes submitted with claims. Multivariate regressions were performed to compare complication rates and costs between specialty, adjusted for patient age, sex, race, Charlson Comorbidity Index, dementia, year, presence of a surgeon assistant, surgery setting, and Medicare plan type. To account for inflation, costs from prior years were inflated to 2021 equivalents based on the gross domestic product (GDP) implicit price deflator. Adjusted infection rates were higher among podiatric surgeons compared with orthopaedic surgeons for both TAA and AA. For TAA, the difference was +3.7 percentage points (ppts; 95% CI: 2.5-4.9) at 90 days and +4.1 ppts (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.7-5.5) at 1 year. For AA, the difference was +3.8 ppts (95% CI: 2.1-5.5) at 90 days and +5.3 ppts (95% CI: 3.1-7.5) at 1 year. Most episode-of-care costs were higher when procedures were performed by podiatric surgeons. Among Medicare beneficiaries, we observed an increased risk of postoperative complications-most notably infection-among podiatric surgeons relative to orthopaedic surgeons for both TAA and AA. Higher costs were seen with podiatric surgeons, though the clinical significance of these cost findings is unclear. With an aging population and expanding utilization of TAA, further investigations should continue to explore the impact of surgeon specialty on postoperative complication rates to best identify the optimal care for patients with ankle arthritis. Level III, therapeutic.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.”

For more information on this research see: Study of Total Ankle Arthroplasty and Ankle Arthrodesis Complications and Costs Based on Surgeon Specialty. JBJS Open Access, 2026;11(3).

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Brook I. Martin, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Additional authors for this research include Devon Nixon and Hyunkyu Ko.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.2106/jbjs.oa.26.00169. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)