Functional and Structural Outcomes Following Arthroscopic Microfracture for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

Functional and Structural Outcomes Following Arthroscopic Microfracture for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

Silvampatti Ramasamy Sundararajan, MS(Orth), INDIA Rajagopalakrishnan Ramakanth, D.ortho, DNB(ortho), D.SICOT, INDIA

Ganga Medical center and hospital, Coimbtaore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA


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Anatomic Location

Anatomic Structure

Treatment / Technique

Diagnosis / Condition

Diagnosis Method

MRI


Summary: Arthroscopic microfracture for osteochondral lesions of the talus results in significant improvement in pain and function. Age, sex, Duration of symptoms and BMI do not co relate with functional outcomes. MOCART 2.0 scores though are not promising, do not affect pain or functional outcome except for subchondral changes which have negative co-relation with functional outcomes


Introduction

Functional & structural outcomes of Arthroscopic Microfracture (AM) for Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) have been varying in previously reported literature. Our study aims to assess the improvement in pain & functional outcome, analyze pre-operative factors affecting functional outcomes & assess structural outcomes of AM in OLT using MRI.

Materials And Methods

23 patients undergoing AM between 2016-2022 were followed up prospectively with minimum follow-up of 1 year. Patients undergoing concurrent ligament repair, lesion size >1.5cm2, associated inflammatory joint disease & ankle arthritis were excluded. Patients were assessed using the VAS, AOFAS scores and MRI analysis was done using MOCART (Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue) 2.0 scoring system.

Results

& Discussion:
AM resulted in significant improvement in VAS and AOFAS scores at a mean follow-up of 28(SD-18) months. Age, sex, BMI & duration of symptoms had no significant co-relation with functional outcomes. MRI analysis revealed complete filling of the cartilage defect only in 5/23, near complete integration into adjacent tissue in 17/23 and minor subchondral oedema in 19/23 patients. The Total MOCART scores had no co relation with the improvement in functional outcomes(p>0.05). However persisting subchondral changes have negative co-relation with functional outcomes.

Conclusion

AM results in significant improvement in pain and function. Age, sex, Duration of symptoms and BMI do not co relate with functional outcomes. MOCART 2.0 scores though are not promising, do not affect pain or functional outcome except for subchondral changes which have negative co-relation with functional outcomes