Short-term clinical and functional results of arthroscopic treatment of talus osteochondritis dissequence (OCD)

Aim: There are multiple surgical techniques that can be used in talus OCD treatment planning. Each surgical method used certainly has different advantages and disadvantages. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical and functional results of patients who applied the "microfracture and scaffold" technique, which is the most frequently used method in the treatment of small and medium-sized talus osteochondral lesions, prospectively in 3-6 months follow-up. Material and Method: Between September 2023 and January 2024, 22 patients who were decided to undergo surgical treatment due to small and medium-sized talus OCD were operated using the "microfracture and scaffold" technique. The patients were followed up prospectively, and VAS scores and AOFAS scores were calculated for preoperative and postoperative clinical and functional evaluation. Results: 22 patients diagnosed with small and medium sized talus OCD were evaluated prospectively. All 22 patients underwent arthroscopic microfracture with the same technique and a cell-free scaffold implant was applied. 9 of the patients were female and 13 were male; mean age was 34.3 years. It was observed that VAS and AOFAS scores at 3 and 6 months after surgery showed statistically significant improvement compared to the preoperative period in all patients (p0.05). It was observed that factors such as age, gender, smoking, and living environment did not have a significant effect on recovery. We concluded that no history of trauma, low BMI and early surgical intervention after pain had a statistically significant effect on clinical recovery and scores (p<0.05) Conclusion: In terms of clinical and functional scores, the "arthroscopic microfracture and concomitant acellular scaffold implant application" technique is a successful combined method that can be preferred in the surgical treatment of small and medium-sized talus OCD lesions. Keywords: Talus, osteochondral lesion, OCD, scaffold, acellular implant, VAS, AOFAS