ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of simultaneous treatment of traumatic calcaneal osteomyelitis and defect deformity with near-arc bone transport by Ilizarov technique.MethodsBetween January 2014 and August 2020, 6 cases of traumatic calcaneal osteomyelitis with defect deformities were treated by simultaneous treatment of near-arc bone transport by Ilizarov technique. The patients were all male; aged from 40 to 61 years (mean, 49.3 years). The disease duration was 2-72 months, with an average of 16.1 months. All patients were traumatic calcaneal osteomyelitis, including 4 cases of falling from height, 1 case of traffic accident injury, and 1 case of crushing injury. The infection affected the talar-heel joint in 4 cases, and the talar-heel joint was fused or partially fused in 2 cases. After the external fixator was removed, the Maryland foot scoring system was used to evaluate the foot function, and the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot function scoring system was used to evaluate the ankle-hindfoot function, and were compared with the preoperative scores.ResultsAll patients were followed up 1.5-26.0 months, with an average of 16.3 months. All incisions healed by first intention, no recurrence of infection occurred, and no surgical intervention such as second-stage bone grafting and fusion was performed. Five cases of calcaneal osteomyelitis with defect deformity underwent one-stage osteotomy and slipped, 1 case of the original bone mass after debridement after infection of calcaneal fractures slipped directly. The bone sliding time was 28-62 days, with an average of 38.7 days; the sliding distance was 3.1-5.2 cm, with an average of 3.6 cm. In 1 patient, due to the short follow-up time, the calcaneal slip bone had not healed, the external fixator had not been removed (not involved in clinical scoring), but the foot shape, reexamination of X-ray films and with frame walking were satisfactory. The time with external fixator was 6-8 months, with an average of 6.5 months in the other 5 cases. After removing the external fixator, the foot returned to three-point weight-bearing, and the longitudinal arch was recovered to varying degrees, and there was no obvious varus valgus. The Maryland score after removal of the external fixator was 80.8±4.7, which was significantly higher than that before operation (33.6±4.3) (t=–35.782, P=0.000), 3 cases were excellent and 2 cases were good; the median AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score was 84, the interquartile range was (79, 86), which was significantly improved when compared with the preoperative score [the median score was 33.5, the interquartile range was (21.3, 37.5)] (Z=–2.023, P=0.043), 4 cases were excellent and 1 case was good. Among them, pain, walking distance, getting rid of walking aids, going up and down stairs, deformity, etc. were significantly improved when compared with preoperative ones. Mobility such as subtalar and hock joints were poor or disappeared.ConclusionSimultaneous treatment of traumatic calcaneal osteomyelitis and defect deformity with near-arc bone transport by Ilizarov technique can optimize the operation method, reduce the number of operations, and try to simulate the original shape of the calcaneus. It is an effective, economical, and novel treatment method.