Tarsal navicular bone dislocation is a rare condition which can lead to long term disability, mainly due to difficulties to obtain an anatomical reduction. Only few cases have been reported.
We report a case of a 21-year-old Cameroonian male who was admitted to the emergency department after a road traffic accident. The physical examination reveals a patient unable to bear weight, with a painful swelling of the antero-medial dorsal region of the right foot, without neurovascular deficits or another lesion. The plain X-ray and the CT scan of the right foot and ankle reveal a medial dislocation of the talonavicular joint without associated fracture. An open reduction was done and two Kirschner wires of 2 mm were place to maintain the reduction. The patient was discharge after five days with an ankle/foot X-ray showing successful reduction of the talonavicular joint. He was reviewed at one and twelve weeks later with no complain and a normal X-ray.
Tarsal navicular bone dislocation is a rare condition which can lead to long term disability. Even in resources constraint settings, a CT-scan should be done when available, in addition to radiography to rule out an associated lesion which can be missed by the X-ray, and to plan the surgical approach.