Osteochondritis dissecans of the talus: long-term results of surgical treatment.

Twenty patients with osteochondritis dissecans of the ankle were reviewed for a clinical and radiographical follow-up 9 to 15 years after surgery including multiple drilling of the lesion combined with excision of loose fragments. The short-term results of surgery were satisfactory: 85 degrees of the patients were improved or cured. At follow-up, more than half of the patients had some degree of pain during activity, and swelling of the ankle, but only a few had locking or pain at rest. Only one of the 18 patients without osteoarthritis at the time of surgery had developed generalized osteoarthritis at the follow-up. Although the initial good results of surgery were demonstrated to deteriorate with time, the procedure can still be recommended in patients with longstanding symptoms.