A brief history of total ankle replacement and a review of the current status

Total ankle replacement (TAR) was first attempted in the early 1970s, but poor early results lead to it being abandoned in favour of arthrodesis. Arthrodesis is not totally satisfactory, often causing further hindfoot arthritis and this has lead to a resurgence of interest in joint replacement. New designs which more closely approximated the natural anatomy of the ankle and associated biomechanics have produced more encouraging results and led to renewed interest in total ankle replacement. Three prostheses dominate the market: Agility, Buechel-Pappas and STAR, and improving clinical results with these devices have led to more designs appearing on the market. Modern designs of prosthetic ankles almost exclusively consist of three part prostheses with a mobile bearing component, similar to the Buechel-Pappas and STAR. Clinical results of these newer designs are limited and short-term and have often been carried out by the designers of the implants. This paper presents a brief history of the development of total ankle replacement and a review of the current status.