Arthroscopic treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus

Description: We reviewed, retrospectively, 65 patients who had undergone arthroscopic treatment for osteochondral lesions of the talus. The 46 men and 19 women with a mean age at operation of 34.25 years, were followed up for a mean of 3.5 years. The medial aspect was affected in 45 patients and the lateral aspect in 20. All the lateral lesions and 35 (75%) of the medial lesions were traumatic in origin. Medial lesions presented later than lateral lesions (3 v 1.5 years) and had a much greater incidence of cystic change (46% v 8%). At follow-up, 34 patients had achieved a good result, and 17 and 14 fair and poor results, respectively. Of the 14 poor results, 13 involved medial lesions. Cystic lesions had a poor outcome in 53% of patients. Excision and curettage led to better results than excision and drilling of the base. Further arthroscopic surgery for patients with a poor result was disappointing. There was no association between outcome and the patient’s age.
J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 2003;85-B:989-93. Full text Arthroscopic treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus D. E. Robinson, I. G. Winson, W. J. Harries, A. J. Kelly