The Use of Allografts in Ankle Injuries

Ankle sprains can damage the lateral ankle ligament complex, resulting in lateral ankle instability or intra-articular cartilage damage, like osteochondral defects (OCD). Both ankle instability and OCD can lead to ankle osteoarthritis, resulting in substantial disability and negatively impacting patients' quality of life. Treating these lesions could be challenging, and various surgical procedures have been described in the literature, including allografts, which have gained popularity and shown promising results in the last few years. The main advantages of allografts include the absence of donor site morbidity, the single-stage procedure, the reduced surgical time, and the alleviation of the possible iatrogenic weakening of the graft. In addition, in cases of OCD, allografts can effectively replace the subchondral bone and are suitable for irregularly shaped defects. Recent literature has demonstrated that allografts significantly improve functional scores and patient-reported outcomes measures and, therefore, are a valuable option to cope with these ankle pathologies.