Explore the vast range of titles available.

Purpose To compare the effect of arthroscopic microfracture surgery alone or in combination with platelet rich plasma (PRP) on functional outcomes in osteochondral lesions of the talus. Methods A total of 35 patients were included in the study. Control subjects ( n  = 16) received treatment with microfracture surgery alone, while the remaining patients (PRP group, n  = 19) were also given PRP. After an average follow-up of 16.2 months (range 12–24 months), patients were assessed using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scoring system, Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM), and the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain. Results At baseline, AOFAS and FAAM scores were similar in the two groups, whereas pain scores (VAS) were higher in those who were assigned to combined treatment. Despite the latter finding, the combined treatment with PRP resulted in better outcomes in terms of functional scores [AOFAS, 89.2 ± 3.9 vs. 71.0 ± 10.2, ( p  = 0.001); FAAM overall pain domain, 1.0 (1.0–2.0) vs. 2.5 (1.0–4.0), ( p  = 0.04); FAAM 15-min walking domain, 1.0 (1.0–2.0) vs. 2.0 (1.0–4.0) ( p  = 0.001)]; and pain-related scores [VAS, 2.2 ± 0.8 vs. 3.8 ± 1.2, ( p  = 0.001)] as compared to arthroscopic microfracture surgery alone. Conclusions PRP as an adjunct to arthroscopic microfracture surgery for the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus resulted in improved functional score status in the medium-term. Further studies to determine the long-term efficacy of this approach were warranted. Level of evidence II.

Purpose Although bone marrow stimulation (BMS) as a treatment for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OCLT) shows high rates of sport resumption at short-term follow-up, it is unclear whether the sports activity is still possible at longer follow-up. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to evaluate sports activity after arthroscopic BMS at long-term follow-up. Methods Sixty patients included in a previously published randomized-controlled trial were analyzed in the present study. All patients had undergone arthroscopic debridement and BMS for OCLT. Return to sports, level, and type were assessed in the first year post-operative and at final follow-up. Secondary outcome measures were assessed by standardized questionnaires with use of numeric rating scales for pain and satisfaction and the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS). Results The mean follow-up was 6.4 years (SD ± 1.1 years). The mean level of activity measured with the AAS was 6.2 pre-injury and 3.4 post-injury. It increased to 5.2 at 1 year after surgery and was 5.8 at final follow-up. At final follow-up, 54 patients (90%) participated in 16 different sports. Thirty-three patients (53%) indicated they returned to play sport at their pre-injury level. Twenty patients (33%) were not able to obtain their pre-injury level of sport because of ankle problems and eight other patients (13%) because of other reasons. Mean NRS for pain during rest was 2.7 pre-operative, 1.1 at 1 year, and 1.0 at final follow-up. Mean NRS during activity changed from 7.9 to 3.7 to 4.4, respectively. The FAOS scores improved at 1 year follow-up, but all subscores significantly decreased at final follow-up. Conclusion At long-term follow-up (mean 6.4 years) after BMS for OCLT, 90% of patients still participate in sports activities, of whom 53% at pre-injury level. The AAS of the patients participating in sports remains similar pre-injury and post-operatively at final follow-up. A decrease over time in clinical outcomes was, however, seen when the follow-up scores at 1 year post-operatively were compared with the final follow-up. Level of evidence Level II.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes of arthroscopic microfracture surgery alone or in combination with hyaluronic acid (HA) injection in the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus. Methods Thirty-five patients with osteochondral lesions of the talus who underwent arthroscopic microfracture were included and followed up for at least 9 months post-operatively. The patients were randomly divided into non-injection group ( n  = 17) who received treatment with microfracture surgery alone and injection group ( n  = 18) who also accepted intra-articular injection of HA post-operatively. Quantitative MRI was used to evaluate the cartilage repair after surgery. American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle-Hind foot Scale scores and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores were used to evaluate clinical outcomes. Results After operation, the MRI outcomes showed that the thickness index was higher (0.8 ± 0.1 vs. 0.7 ± 0.1) and the T2 index was lower (1.2 ± 0.1 vs. 1.4 ± 0.1) in the injection group than in the non-injection group ( P  < 0.01). As for the volumes of subchondral bone marrow oedema, there are no significant differences between groups (n.s.). Compared with the non-injection group, the AOFAS score and the VAS score yielded a higher level of improvement in injection group at final follow-up post-operatively ( P  < 0.05). Conclusions Arthroscopic microfracture is a safe and effective procedure for osteochondral lesions of the talus. Intra-articular HA injection as an adjunct to arthroscopic microfracture might offer better functional recovery than microfracture alone. Level of evidence II.

Introduction There are various surgical techniques applied for the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT). The mosaicplasty technique is one of the most commonly used methods for deep lesions. The all-arthroscopic technique with scaffold and autograft bone taken from the tibial plafond is a novel method as an alternative to the mosaicplasty. This study aims to compare the clinical and radiological results of these two different surgical techniques in the treatment of deep OLT. Materials and methods From September 2019 to July 2021, 30 patients with deep osteochondral lesions of the talus were randomly divided into two groups for either mosaicplasty or the all-arthroscopic technique, and they were evaluated prospectively. American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale and visual analog scale (VAS) scores were evaluated within and between groups preoperatively and postoperatively. Radiological assessments were performed at 6th and 12th month postoperatively according to the magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue (MOCART) scale. Results Mosaicplasty was applied to 15 patients, and all-arthroscopic technique was applied to 15 patients. 14 of the patients were female and 16 were male; the mean age was 38.1. Within-group evaluations revealed significant improvements in AOFAS and VAS scores at postoperative 6th and 12th months (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the treatment groups in comparison of clinical scores at any time period. There was no significant difference between the two methods according to the total MOCART scores (p > 0.05). However, the all-arthroscopic technique was more successful in terms of “border integration” and “repair tissue structure” (p < 0.05). Age, body mass index (BMI) and lesion surface area were not correlated with clinical scores. Conclusions In terms of clinical and radiological scores, similar results were obtained in the treatment groups. Both surgical techniques were found to be effective in the treatment of deep OLT.

Background We aimed to evaluate whether arthroscopic microfracture with atelocollagen augmentation could improve the clinical outcomes and quality of regenerated cartilage in patients with osteochondral lesion of the talus (OLT). We hypothesized that the clinical outcomes and quality of the regenerated cartilage would be superior in patients undergoing arthroscopic microfracture with atelocollagen augmentation compared to those undergoing arthroscopic microfracture alone. Methods In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial, 60 patients were randomly allocated to two groups: arthroscopic microfracture with atelocollagen augmentation (group 1, n  = 31) and arthroscopic microfracture alone (group 2, n  = 29). Mean 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS), Hannover scoring system (HSS), and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores were assessed 2 years postoperatively and compared between the groups. The quality of the regenerated cartilage was assessed according to the Magnetic Resonance Observation of CArtilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) score based on magnetic resonance imaging. Results Forty-six patients (22 in group 1, 23 in group 2) completed the 2-year follow-up. The quality of the regenerated cartilage assessed based on the MOCART score was significantly superior in group 1 compared to group 2 (64.49 ± 18.27 vs 53.01 ± 12.14, p  = 0.018). Clinical outcomes in terms of 100-mm VAS (17.25 ± 20.31 vs 19.37 ± 18.58, p  = 0.72), HSS (93.09 ± 13.64 vs 86.09 ± 13.36, p  = 0.14), and AOFAS (91.23 ± 8.62 vs 86.91 ± 10.68, p  = 0.09) scores were superior in group 1 compared to group 2, but the differences were not statistically significant. Both groups showed significant improvements in clinical outcomes compared with the preoperative values. Conclusion The quality of the regenerated cartilage was superior after arthroscopic microfracture with atelocollagen augmentation compared to that after microfracture alone in patients with OLT. Clinical outcomes assessed 2 years postoperatively were superior in patients who underwent arthroscopic microfracture with atelocollagen augmentation compared to those who underwent arthroscopic microfracture alone, although the differences were not statistically significant. A long-term study of the cohort is required to confirm these findings. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT02519881 ), August 11, 2015.

Purpose The aim of this study is to report the outcomes of the treatment of talar osteochondral lesions with arthroscopic microfracture technique and postoperative intra-articular hyaluronan injection. Method Fifty-seven patients (29 men, 28 women) with osteochondral lesions of the talus were included in this prospective randomized clinical study between the years 2003 and 2009. The patients were treated with arthroscopic debridement and microfracture technique. Randomly selected 41 patients were injected intra-articular hyaluronan (injection group). The remaining 16 patients did not receive postoperative injection (non-injection group). Assessment of the pain and functional outcomes was performed using the Freiburg and AOFAS ankle/hindfoot scoring systems. Results In the injection group, the mean postoperative Freiburg functional and pain scores were significantly higher compared to preoperative functional and pain scores ( P  < 0.001). Similarly, for the patients in non-injection group, the mean postoperative Freiburg functional and pain scores were significantly higher compared to preoperative functional and pain scores ( P  < 0.001). The AOFAS functional and pain scores of the patients in the injection group were significantly higher ( P  < 0.001) postoperatively compared to preoperative scores. Scoring the patients in the non-injection group according to AOFAS system also revealed significantly higher ( P  < 0.001) postoperative functional and pain scores over preoperative scores. The increase in the postoperative scores was found to be significantly higher in the injection group compared to non-injection group in both Freiburg and AOFAS systems ( P  < 0.001). Conclusion Treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus using microfracture technique significantly improved functional and pain scores postoperatively. Additional treatment with intra-articular hyaluronan injection as an adjunct to microfracture technique may offer better clinical outcomes over microfracture technique alone. Level of evidence Randomized, controlled trial, Level I.

IntroductionLarge cystic osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) have been shown to have inferior clinical outcomes after reparative techniques such as bone marrow stimulation. Autologous osteochondral transplantation has been viewed as an alternative choice for treating these lesions, but donor-site morbidity has limited its application. Excellent clinical outcomes have been shown in repairing these types of lesions with autologous osteoperiosteal grafts, and these outcomes are achieved at a low cost and without donor-site morbidity in the normal knee joint. This will be the first randomised controlled trial to compare the two surgical techniques, and recommendations for the treatment of patients with large cystic OLTs will be provided.Methods and analysisA non-inferiority randomised controlled trial will be conducted. A total of 70 participants with clinically diagnosed large cystic OLTs will be randomly allocated to either the experimental group or the control group at a ratio of 1:1. The experimental group will be treated with autologous osteoperiosteal cylinder graft transplantation, while the control group will be treated with autologous osteochondral transplantation. The primary outcome measure will be the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society Ankle-Hindfoot Score and the Short Form 12 (SF-12) questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures will include the secondary arthroscopy International Cartilage Repair Society score, the Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue score, the Tegner activity level score, the visual analogue scale, routine X-rays, CT and complications. These parameters will be evaluated preoperatively, as well as at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 60 months postoperatively. In this trial, we hypothesised that both procedures offer good results for the treatment of patients with large cystic OLTs, and occurrence of donor-site morbidity in autologous osteoperiosteal cylinder graft transplantation group is less than that in autologous osteochondral transplantation group.Ethics and disseminationThe current study was approved by the board of research ethics of Peking University Third Hospital Medical Science Research Ethics Committee. The results of this study will be presented at national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration number NCT03347877.

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to assess the overall clinical success rate of non-operative management for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT). Methods A literature search was conducted in the PubMed (MEDLINE), COCHRANE and EMBASE (Ovid) databases. Clinical success rates per separate study were calculated at the latest moment of follow-up and were defined as successful when a good or excellent clinical result at follow-up was reported in a qualitative manner or when a post-operative American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score at or above 80 was reached. When clinical outcomes were based on other clinical scoring systems, outcomes reported as good or excellent were considered as clinical success. Studies methodologically eligible for a simplified pooling method were combined to calculate an overall pooled clinical success rate. Radiological changes over the course of conservative treatment were assessed either considering local OLT changes and/or overall ankle joint changes. Results Thirty articles were included, including an overall of 868 patients. The median follow-up of the included studies was 37 months (range: 3–288 months). A simplified pooling method was possible among 16 studies and yielded an overall pooled clinical success rate of 45% (95% CI 40–50%). As assessed with plain radiographs, progression of ankle joint osteoarthritis was observed in of 9% (95% CI 6–14%) of the patients. As assessed through a Computed Tomography (CT) scan, focal OLT deterioration was observed in 11% (95% CI 7–18%) of the patients. As assessed with a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan, focal OLT deterioration was observed in 12% (95% CI 6–24%) of the patients. An unchanged lesion was detected on plain radiographs in 53% (48/91; CI 43–63%), 76% (99/131; 95% CI 68–82%) on a CT scan and on MRI in 84% (42/50; 95% CI 71–92%) of the patients. Conclusion The current literature on non-operative management of OLTs is scarce and heterogeneous on indication and type of treatment. Promising clinical results are presented but need to interpreted with caution due to the heterogeneity in indication, duration and type of treatment. Further studies need to focus on specific types on conservative management, indications and its results. Level of evidence Systematic review, Level IV.

Purpose The purpose of this systematic literature review is to detect the most effective treatment option for primary talar osteochondral defects in adults. Methods A literature search was performed to identify studies published from January 1996 to February 2017 using PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, CDSR, DARE, and CENTRAL. Two authors separately and independently screened the search results and conducted the quality assessment using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Subsequently, success rates per separate study were calculated. Studies methodologically eligible for a simplified pooling method were combined. Results Fifty-two studies with 1236 primary talar osteochondral defects were included of which forty-one studies were retrospective and eleven prospective. Two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were identified. Heterogeneity concerning methodological nature was observed, and there was variety in reported success rates. A simplified pooling method performed for eleven retrospective case series including 317 ankles in the bone marrow stimulation group yielded a success rate of 82% [CI 78–86%]. For seven retrospective case series investigating an osteochondral autograft transfer system or an osteoperiosteal cylinder graft insertion with in total 78 included ankles the pooled success rate was calculated to be 77% [CI 66–85%]. Conclusions For primary talar osteochondral defects, none of the treatment options showed any superiority over others. Level of evidence IV.

Background Osteochondral talar defects usually affect athletic patients. The primary surgical treatment consists of arthroscopic debridement and microfracturing. Although this is mostly successful, early sport resumption is difficult to achieve, and it can take up to one year to obtain clinical improvement. Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) may be effective for talar defects after arthroscopic treatment by promoting tissue healing, suppressing inflammation, and relieving pain. We hypothesize that PEMF-treatment compared to sham-treatment after arthroscopy will lead to earlier resumption of sports, and aim at 25% increase in patients that resume sports. Methods/Design A prospective, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted in five centers throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. 68 patients will be randomized to either active PEMF-treatment or sham-treatment for 60 days, four hours daily. They will be followed-up for one year. The combined primary outcome measures are (a) the percentage of patients that resume and maintain sports, and (b) the time to resumption of sports, defined by the Ankle Activity Score. Secondary outcome measures include resumption of work, subjective and objective scoring systems (American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society – Ankle-Hindfoot Scale, Foot Ankle Outcome Score, Numeric Rating Scales of pain and satisfaction, EuroQol-5D), and computed tomography. Time to resumption of sports will be analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests. Discussion This trial will provide level-1 evidence on the effectiveness of PEMFs in the management of osteochondral ankle lesions after arthroscopy. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register (NTR1636)