Arthroscopic Bone Marrow Stimulation in the Treatment of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

Abstract

Introduction/Purpose: Arthroscopic bone marrow stimulation for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) has presented promising clinical outcomes in recent studies. However, there were few studies which had investigated long-term clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term outcomes of arthroscopic bone marrow stimulation for osteochondral lesion of the talus and to identify prognostic factors that affect the outcome. Methods: Between January 2001 and December 2007, 159 patients (172 ankles) with OLT underwent arthroscopic bone marrow stimulation as a primary surgery. Clinical outcomes were assessed using visual analog scale (VAS), American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and re-operation rate. Factors associated with reoperation were evaluated using bivariate analysis. Kaplan-Meier plot showed survival outcomes of OLT in long-term follow-up. Results: The mean follow-up time was 12.7 years (range 10.1-16.8) and the mean size of the lesion was 105.4 mm2 (range 19.8-322.8). The mean VAS improved from 7.21 ± 1.71 to 1.76 ± 1.60. The mean preoperative AOFAS score was 57.98 ±14.43 and the mean postoperative AOFAS was 82.91 ± 11.58. FAOS at the time of final follow-up was comparable with those of previous literatures which showed outcomes of surgical treatments of OLT in short-and mid-term follow-up. Re-operation rate was 6.40 % (11 patients with 12 revision surgery) including seven cases of re-arthroscopic bone marrow stimulation, and five cases of OAT. According to bivariate analysis, significant factor associated with re-operation was large sized OLT in preoperative MRI measurement. Conclusion: Arthroscopic bone marrow stimulation for osteochondral lesion of the talus has made satisfactory clinical outcomes through long-term follow-up over 10 years.