Arthroscopic intralesional curettage for large benign talar dome cysts

Introduction: Surgical management of large talar dome cysts is challenging due to increased morbidity by associated cartilage damage and malleolar osteotomy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical and radiological outcome of endoscopic curettage and bone graft for large talar dome cysts. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of data for eight patients (eight feet) who were treated by arthroscopic curettage and grafting for large talar dome cysts. Seven cases were treated by posterior ankle arthroscopy as the lesion was located posteriorly while one case was treated by anterior ankle arthroscopy as the lesion was breached anteriorly. Results: The final diagnosis, was; large osteochondral lesion of talus (two cases), aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) (two case), intra-osseous ganglion (two cases), Chronic infection in talus (one case) and angiomatous lesion of the talus (one case). The mean follow up period was 18.3 (±3.06 SD) months (range 16–25 months). The median preoperative AOFAS score was 74.5 (±5.34 SD) points. The mean postoperative AOFAS score at one year follow up was 94.6 (±2.97 SD) points. None of the patient had recurrence of the lesion during follow up. Return to normal daily activity was achieved at 11.25 (±2.37 SD) weeks. Discussion: In this short case series study, large talar dome bony cysts of different pathologies including aneurysmal bone cysts could be treated effectively by endoscopic curettage and bone grafting with no recurrence no complications during the follow-up period.