Does Supplementing Vitamin D Deficiency Affect Fusion Healing Rates in Elective Foot and Ankle Surgery?

This study will be a randomized, 1:1 placebo controlled, blinded, prospective study of level I evidence. The investigators will recruit patients undergoing a major ankle, hindfoot, or midfoot arthrodesis and obtain serum vitamin D levels. Patients that are vitamin D deficient (\<30 ng/mL) will then be randomized into two treatment groups: vitamin D supplementation (50,000 IU D2) and no vitamin D supplementation, receiving placebo. Vitamin D levels will be drawn on the day of surgery and 6-8 weeks post-operatively. Outcome variables tested in this study are as follows: bone fusion as an event, time to bone fusion, VAS, and SF-36. The study will be conducted at 4 investigative sites within the Allegheny Health Network; West Penn Hospital, Forbes Regional Hospital, Twin Towers and Steel Valley Orthopedics \& Sports Medicine, Jefferson Hills, PA. Recruitment will stop when approximately 150 subjects are entering the follow-up phase of the study.