A new surgical technique for the treatment of pes planus deformity: a preliminary report.

This posteriorly placed, extra-articular, calcaneal osteotomy was developed at the Atlanta Hospital and Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia. Using a posterior, transverse approach, a frontal or sagittal plane Z-plasty lengthening of the Achilles tendon is performed to gain access to the superior aspect of the calcaneal body. An opening wedge osteotomy is then directed posterior-dorsal to anterior-plantar, to effectively plantarflex the posterior aspect of the calcaneus. It is indicated in clinical conditions involving a sagittal plane flatfoot with minimal heel valgus.