Arthroscopy of the ankle: analysis of results and indications on a series of 75 cases.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of arthroscopy of the ankle. Of the 114 arthroscopies of the ankle that we performed between 1991 and 1996, 13 were for diagnosis, 6 were associated with open surgery, and 10 were ankle arthrodeses. We report the results of the remaining 85 therapeutic arthroscopies. We identified five groups according to preoperative indications: (1) anterolateral synovitis after a sprained ankle (33 cases), (2) sequelae of fractured ankles (17 cases), (3) anterior impingement as a result of osteophytes (12 cases), (4) loose foreign bodies as a result of avulsion of fragments of bone (6 cases), and (5) osteochondral lesions of the talar dome (17 cases). In anterolateral synovitis, results were better when the pain followed a single sprain than when after chronic instability. In osteochondral lesions of the talar dome, results were better in anterolateral lesions than in posteromedial lesions.