Retrograde drilling of osteochondral lesions of the talus

This study evaluates the use of retrograde drilling in medial osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) with intact articular surfaces. During a 2-year period, 8 consecutive patients underwent surgical treatment for symptomatic posterior medial OLT. All patients underwent arthroscopy of the ankle followed by retrograde drilling of the talar lesion. A novel cannulated system was used to target the lesion, remove the necrotic segment, and then backfill using Grafton gel. The average age of the patients was 36 years old (range, 12-49 years). Follow-up ranged from 8 to 44 months (mean 24 months). One patient was lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 7, outcomes were assessed with a modified American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle/ hindfoot scale and the SF-12 general health survey. Four patients had repeat magnetic resonance imaging scans at 1-year follow-up. The preoperative AOFAS scores from the modified hindfoot scale ranged from 0 to 41 (mean 22). Postoperative scores ranged from 52 to 68 (mean 56), with a mean improvement of 34 points. The SF-12 has 2 components: the physical component score (PCS) and the mental component score (MCS). Mean preoperative and latest follow-up SF-12 PCS scores were 35.8 and 44.0, respectively. Mean preoperative and latest follow-up SF-12 MCS scores were 40.7 and 52.8, respectively. In this limited series, this technique appears to give comparable short-term results to previously described techniques. Use of a cannulated system simplifies the surgical procedure. Overall, this procedure offers decreased operative time and maximizes safety and accuracy with retrograde talar drilling.