Anterior tibiotalar spurs: a comparison of open versus arthroscopic debridement.

We compared the difference in operative time, hospitalization and recovery time in two groups of patients who underwent open or arthroscopic resection of anterior, tibiotalar, impinging spurs. The operative time was approximately the same, but the average length of hospitalization and time to recovery were shorter in the arthroscopic group. A classification system is proposed that grades the degree of spur formation and assists in predicting the length of recovery time and whether the patient is a candidate for open or arthroscopic spur resection. In this series, grade I spur patients recovered and resumed full activity at 5.0 weeks, grade II at 5.6 weeks, grade III at 6.4 weeks, and grade IV at 10.0 weeks postoperatively. Grade IV patients are not suitable candidates for an arthroscopic debridement.