Long-term Outcomes of Microfracture for Treatment of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

Category: Ankle; Arthroscopy Introduction/Purpose: Bone marrow stimulation procedures, specifically microfracture, have become a common treatment technique for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT). Such procedures have been shown to be effective among a variety of patient populations at postoperative time points up to about 5 years (references?). While microfracture has been shown to be effective in short- to medium-term follow-up, there is a paucity of literature demonstrating the long-term efficacy of this procedure. Recently, the development of additional treatment techniques has been explored, with deterioration of the resultant fibrocartilage being a particular concern with microfracture. The purpose of this study is to determine the long-term effectiveness of microfracture bone marrow stimulation for treatment of OLTs in patients at least 10 years removed from surgery. Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing microfracture of an OLT with a single fellowship-trained orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon at least 10 years prior was performed. Patients meeting the inclusion criteria were contacted to complete the Foot & Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Sports subscales, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, as well as surveyed regarding their satisfaction with the outcome of the procedure using a 5-point Likert scale. In addition to medical chart review, patients were asked directly over the phone about any subsequent foot and ankle procedures needed, any injections necessary, and whether they wore an ankle brace/orthotic in the time following the procedure. Patient demographics including sex, age at time of surgery, laterality of surgery, and surgical history following their index procedure were reviewed. Descriptive statistics were calculated for patient demographics and survey responses to assess functional outcomes. Results: Forty-two patients were contacted and completed postoperative surveys. Average patient age at the time of the procedure was 38.6 years, and 24 patients (57%) were male. On average, FAAM-ADL score was 86.57 (+-20.85), Sports score was 72.31 (+-30.48), and VAS pain score was 19.52 (scale of 0-100). Patients reported being satisfied with the outcome of the procedure in 35 of 42 cases (83.3%). Five patients (11.9%) had other foot/ankle procedures since their microfracture, with 3 directly addressing the talus in some fashion. Three patients (7.1%) received injection(s) in their ankle in the follow-up period, and 9 patients (21.4%) reported wearing a brace since the time of surgery with 6 patients (14.3%) reporting it as a direct relation to their OLT and surgery. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that microfracture is an effective functional treatment for OLT in the long term, and addresses the valid questions posed about the ability for the procedure to produce durable fibrocartilage. Patients report average functional and pain assessment scores at the 10-year postoperative mark consistent with a generally successful and effective treatment.