ANKLE ARTHROSCOPIES: OUR SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES IN 17 CONSECUTIVE PATIENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Thirty-five ankle arthroscopies performed between March 1995 and May 2002 were analyzed to evaluate the risks and benefits of the procedure.
Patients and methods: All arthroscopies were performed over a 7-year period by a single surgeon using the same nonskeletal traction technique. Seventeen of 35 of these patients could be reached at the follow-up. The average follow-up was 22.65 (range, 6-88) months. There were 8 male and 9 female patients. The average age was 37 (range, 21-58) years. The average of the preoperative symptoms was 42 (range, 4-108) months. Clinical and radiographic examination was performed before the operation. At the latest follow-up, clinical examination, visual analog scores and radiographic examination were repeated. 12 of 17 patients (70.58%) were treated conservatively with an average of 3.8 (range, 3-12) months, preoperatively.
Results: The diagnoses were osteochondral lesions of the talus in 7; post ankle fracture scarring in 4; anterior bony impingement in 1; soft tissue impingement or synovitis in 13. Overall, in 10 of 17 patients (58.8%) the results of the procedure were good and 12 of 17 patients (70.58%) were satisfied by the procedure. Those patients with a diagnosis of diffuse synovitis, posttraumatic chondromalacia and arthrofibrosis had poor results, whereas patients with a localized osteochondral lesion of the talus, localized bony or soft tissue impingement had the best results. There were no complications from ankle arthroscopy in this series.
Discussion: Ankle arthroscopy appears to be a relatively low-risk procedure with substantial benefits, particularly in localized disease of the ankle joint.