[Computer-assisted drilling of the lower extremity. Technique and indications]

Computer assisted navigation-based surgery is a novel and interesting challenge for todays surgeons. One must however keep in mind, that the indications for these techniques (a) should be carefully considered, (b) used only if morbidity is not increased and (c) when previously problematic or inacurate surgical methods can be improved upon. This study reports that, using a non-invasive fixation method (FISCOFIX-Cast), lesions between the ankle- and knee-joints can be precisely localized, registered and treated. Due to the difficult access to lesions especially in the posterior areas of the talus, using conventional arthroscopic methods this procedure is very useful. Percutaneous retrograde drilling (cf. [6, 7, 9, 15, 20, 21]) spared the joint's cartilage in all cases. At the level of the knee joint we see the usefulness of this method for complex situations (cf. [12, 13]) requiring precise drilling.