A comparison between arthroscopic and open surgery for treatment outcomes of chronic lateral ankle instability accompanied by osteochondral lesions of the talus
Abstract Background : The present study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of concurrent arthroscopic treatment of osteochondral lesion of talus (OLT) and lateral ankle instability. It was hypothesized that the outcome of all arthroscopic surgery was no worse than that of the combined open and arthroscopic surgery for treating chronic lateral ankle instability accompanied by OLT. Methods : All the patients diagnosed of chronic lateral ankle instability accompanied by OLT who were surgically treated between May 2015 and May2017 were targeted for inclusion. A total of 32 patients received concurrent arthroscopic treatment of OLT and lateral ankle instability, and 35 patients received arthroscopic treatment of OLT and open lateral ankle stabilization. All these patients were followed up using Karlsson Ankle Functional Score, visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Tegner activity score, and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Score (AOFAS). The satisfaction and complication rate was evaluated and compared. Results : At 24-month follow-up, the Karlsson score, VAS score, Tegner score and AOFAS score were significantly improved in both groups in relation to the pre-operative condition. The two groups did not differ significantly from each other in terms of functional outcomes, satisfaction and complication rate. Conclusion : In comparison with the open lateral ankle stabilization and arthroscopic treatment of OLT, the all arthroscopic procedure showed no difference in clinical outcome at 24-month follow-up for treating chronic lateral ankle instability accompanied by OLT. With the benefits of minimal invasive arthroscopic procedure and an aggressive rehabilitation protocol, the treatment efficacy for the patients with chronic lateral ankle instability accompanied by OLT was still inferior to that for the patients with chronic ankle instability. Trial registration : The present study was carried out with the retrospectively registered data starting from May 28, 2015