Abstract
Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) can develop after acute or chronic ankle trauma and represent a challenging problem for both the patient and surgeon. Plain radiographs only detect a portion of these injuries. Advanced imaging with CT and/or MRI is required. While nonoperative treatment can be successful in selected cases, operative management is frequently required particularly for larger lesions. Numerous surgical treatment options exist. Arthroscopic bone marrow stimulation typically is reserved as a minimally invasive, cost-effective option for smaller primary lesions. Larger lesions, as well as those who have failed primary treatment, typically require replacement procedures via autograft or allograft transplantation, as well as scaffold-based techniques and other biological options. The development of cysts, the longevity of repair tissue, and long-term joint health remain concerns.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Further Reading
Adams SB, Viens NA, Easley ME, et al. Midterm results of osteochondral lesions of the talar shoulder treated with fresh osteochondral allograft transplantation. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011;93(7):648–54.
Alexander AH, Lichtman DM. Surgical treatment of transchondral talar-dome fractures (osteochondritis dissecans). Long term follow-up. J Bone Joint Surg. 1980;62A:646–52.
Baums MH, Heidrich G, Schultz W, et al. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation for treating cartilage defects of the talus. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2006;88(2):303–8.
Becher C, Thermann H. Results of microfracture in the treatment of articular cartilage defects of the talus. Foot Ankle Int. 2005;26(8):583–9.
Becher C, Driessen A, Hess T, et al. Microfracture for chondral defects of the talus: maintenance of early results at midterm follow-up. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2010;18:656–63.
Bisicchia S, Rosso F, Amendola A. Osteochondral allograft of the talus. Iowa Orthop J. 2014;34:30–7.
Cheng MS, et al. Osteochondral lesions of the talus: a radiologic and surgical comparison. Presented at the annual meeting of the academy of orthopaedic surgeons, New Orleans, FL, 1995.
Choi WJ, Takao M, Lee JW. Microfracture treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus. Oper Tech Orthop. 2014;24:157–62.
Chuckpaiwong B, Berkson EM, Theodore GH. Microfracture for osteo-chondral lesions of the ankle: outcome analysis and outcome predictors of 105 cases. Arthroscopy. 2008;24:106–12.
Coetzee JC, Giza E, Schon LC, et al. Treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus with particulated juvenile cartilage. Foot Ankle Int. 2013;34(9):1205–11.
Cuttica DJ, Shockley JA, Hyer CF, et al. Correlation of MRI edema and clinical outcomes following microfracture of osteochondral lesions of the talus. Foot Ankle Spec. 2011;4:274–9.
Donnenwerth MP, Roukis TS. Outcome of arthroscopic debridement and microfracture as the primary treatment for osteochondral lesions of the talar dome. Arthroscopy. 2012;28(12):1902–7.
Dragoni M, Bonasia DE, Amendola A. Osteochondral talar allograft for large osteochondral defects: technique tip. Foot Ankle Int. 2011;32(9):910–6.
Easley ME, Latt LD, Santangelo JR, et al. Surgical techniques: osteochondral lesions of the talus. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2010;18:616–30.
Easley ME, Adams SB Jr, DeOrio JK, et al. Structural allograft reconstruction for large osteochondral lesions of the talus. Tech Foot Ankle Surg. 2011;10(4):148–58.
Elias I, Zoga AC, Morrison WB, et al. Osteochondral lesions of the talus: localization and morphologic data from 424 patients using a novel anatomical grid scheme. Foot Ankle Int. 2007;28:154–61.
El-Rashidy H, Villacis D, Omar I, et al. Fresh osteochondral allograft for the treatment of cartilage defects of the talus: a retrospective review. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011;93(17):1634–40.
Ferkel RD. Foot and ankle arthroscopy. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2017.
Ferkel RD, et al. Arthroscopic treatment of chronic osteochondral lesions of the talus: long term results. Am J Sports Med. 2008;36:1750.
Ginannini S, Vannini F. Operative treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talar dome: current concepts review. Foot Ankle Int. 2004;25:168–75.
Gobbi A, Grancisco RA, Lubowitz JH, et al. Osteochondral lesions of the talus: randomized controlled trial comparing chondroplasty, microfracture, and osteochondral autograft transplantation. Arthroscopy. 2006;22(10):1085–92.
Golano P, Vega J, Perez-Carro L, et al. Ankle anatomy for the arthroscopist. Part I: The portals. Foot Ankle Clin. 2006;11:253–73.
Gross CE, Adams SB, Easley ME, et al. Role of fresh osteochondral allografts for large talar osteochondral lesions. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2016;24:e9–e17.
Haene R, Qamirani E, Story RA, et al. Intermediate outcomes of fresh talar osteochondral allografts for treatment of large osteochondral lesions of the talus. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012;94(12):1105–10. https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.J.02010. PMID: 22717829.
Kelikian AS, Sarrafian SK, et al. Sarrafian’s anatomy of the foot and ankle. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2011.
Lee KB, Bai LB, Yoon TR, et al. Second-look arthroscopic findings and clinical outcomes after microfracture for osteochondral lesions of the talus. Am J Sports Med. 2009;37:63S–70S.
Mitchell ME, Giza E, Sullivan MR. Cartilage transplantation techniques for talar cartilage lesions. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2009;17(7):407–14.
Phisitkul P, Tochigi Y, Saltzman CL, et al. Arthroscopic visualization of the posterior subtalar joint in the prone position: a cadaver study. Arthroscopy. 2006;22:511–5.
Polat G, Ersen A, Erdil ME, et al. Long-term results of microfracture in the treatment of talus osteochondral lesions. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2016;24(4):1299–303.
Raikin SM. Fresh osteochondral allografts for large-volume cystic osteochondral defects of the talus. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2009;91:2818–26.
Steele JR, Dekker TJ, Federer AE, et al. Osteochondral lesions of the talus: current concepts in diagnosis and treatment. Foot Ankle Orthop. 2018;3:1–9.
Takao M, Ochi M, Naito K, et al. Arthroscopic drilling for chondral, subchondral, and combined chondral-subchondral lesions of the talar dome. Arthroscopy. 2003;19:524–30.
van Bergen CJA, Zwiers R, van Dijk N. Arthroscopic treatment of osteochondral talar defects. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2013;95(6):519–25.
van Dijk CN. Ankle arthroscopy: techniques developed by the Amsterdam Foot and Ankle School. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 2014.
van Dijk CN, van Bergen CJA. Advancements in ankle arthroscopy. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2008;16:635–46.
Wei B, Zhang J, Xu X, et al. Surgical anatomy atlas of foot and ankle. Beijing: People’s Military Medical Press; 2015.
Zengerink M, Struijs PA, Tol JL, et al. Treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus: a systematic review. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2010;18:238–46.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chen, J., Hua, Y., Amendola, A., Murawski, C.D., Mangone, P. (2022). Osteochondral Lesions of Talus. In: Arthroscopic Techniques and Anatomy of the Foot and Ankle. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05190-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05190-6_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-05189-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-05190-6
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)