The mosaicplasty technique for osteochondral lesions of the talus.

For years, OCD of the talus has been known as a symptomatic lesion that causes pain, recurrent synovitis, altered joint mechanism, and obstruction from loose bodies. It is a probable precursor of ankle osteoarthritis because of altered joint mechanics and recurrent synovitis. With the notable advance of diagnostic imaging and the advent of ankle arthroscopy, classification of the lesion has become standardized, which allowed for the comparison of treatment options. Arthroscopic procedures (eg, debridement, retrograde drilling, bone grafting, by nature of their minimally invasive approach, have a great advantage in treating small defects and stable OCD lesions compared with open methods. For larger osteochondral defects and unstable OCD lesions, the optimal treatment is the long-term replacement and integration of type-specific hyaline cartilage. In principle, mosaicplasty autogenous osteochondral transplantation fills these criteria. The early- and medium-term results are encouraging, complete with confirmatory radiographs and histology, and hold promise for this procedure to provide lasting relief of symptoms and the prevention of ankle arthrosis. Under the current dichotomy of nonoperative and operative treatments giving satisfactory results, and few comparative studies, there is a need for a randomized, prospective study in the treatment of talar OCD to define a reproducible treatment algorithm.