A Case Report of a Simultaneous Local Osteochondral Autografting and Ankle Arthrodiastasis for the Treatment of a Talar Dome Defect

Treatment of ankle arthritis with distraction arthroplasty

“…The case report by Belczyk et al 18 further highlights the potential of ankle distraction to augment other procedures in the ankle. Although this is only one case, many clinical situations exist that may benefit from the stability offered by ring external fixation with some degree of joint distraction.…”

“…In 2009, Belczyk et al 18 published a case report of a talar osteochondral defect treated with an OATS procedure and concomitant ankle distraction. The patient was a 53-year-old man with 20 Â 5 Â 8 mm osteochondral defect in the medial talar dome with overlying cartilage loss.…”

“…16,17,18 These additional procedures have included osteotomies with a focus on deformity correction. Past literature has shown that realignment alone may improve the clinical symptoms of an arthritic joint.…”

Distraction Arthroplasty for Ankle Osteoarthritis

“…For example, the stem cells can be injected into the subchondral bone instead of into the joint (Jager et al 2010 ). Joint distraction may help improve radiographic and clinical results in OATS (osteochondral autograft transplantation surgery) procedures (Belczyk et al 2009 ) and in ACI (autologous chondrocyte implantation). Ankle arthrodiastasis may have a role in the prevention of posttraumatic arthritis.…”

Evidence-Based Indications for Distraction Ankle Arthroplasty

“…Belzjack and colleagues described a 53-year-old man who presented with ankle pain which proved to be an osteochondral lesion of the talar dome. 2 He was treated with autograft and simultaneous ankle arthrodiastasis which led to successful resolution of the lesion.…”