Table 2.

Pearls and Pitfalls of the Proposed Technique

Pearls	Pitfalls
Creation of portals with stab incisions through skin only followed by blunt dissection	Improper placement of posterolateral portal places sural nerve at risk of injury
Direction of instruments toward lateral border of third metatarsal during initial portal placement	Iatrogenic injury to medial neurovascular bundle during instrument insertion if inserting instruments directed too medially
Careful initial debridement of fatty tissue with direct visualization of instrument and triangulation (place instrument and camera at 90° to facilitate localization)	Careless initial debridement before establishing adequate visualization leading to iatrogenic injury
Debridement of hypertrophied intermalleolar ligament in cases of posterior ankle impingement	Failure to debride intermalleolar ligament in posterior ankle impingement leading to residual pain and mechanical symptoms
Passive flexion/extension of hallux to identify flexor hallucis longus tendon	Mistaking flexor digitorum longus or posterior tibial tendons for flexor hallucis longus tendon
Awareness of full working length of shaver especially while working near the flexor hallucis longus tendon	Damage to the flexor hallucis longus tendon due to length of shaver while working on other structures
Calcaneal distraction and ankle dorsiflexion to facilitate entry into the posterior tibiotalar joint	Damage to articular cartilage from aggressive attempts to pass instruments into joint space
Inserting a probe into the subtalar joint to assess range of motion in non-osseous coalition followed by resection	Attempting to resect large coalitions or osseous coalitions which are not amenable to arthroscopic treatment