A Novel Medial Malleolar Osteotomy Technique for the Treatment of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

BACKGROUND: The current techniques for medial malleolar osteotomy may lead to posterior tibial tendon injury and have a high rate of malunion. PURPOSE: To describe a novel partial step-cut medial malleolar osteotomy technique and evaluate its technical feasibility and its advantages compared with traditional methods. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: The novel technique consisted of osteotomy of the anterior one-third to two-thirds of the medial malleolus. A total of 19 ankles (18 patients) with osteochondral lesions of the talus underwent the novel osteotomy technique before osteochondral reconstruction. All patients were evaluated for more than 2 years. Radiographs were analyzed for postoperative displacement and malunion, and postoperative ankle function was evaluated according to the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot scale and the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. RESULTS: The partial step-cut osteotomy technique was able to provide adequate intra-articular exposure without disturbing the posterior tibial tendon. The 19 ankles healed at a mean of 7.3 ± 1.5 weeks (range, 6-12 weeks). There was slight incongruence in 4 ankles, with a displacement of 1.0 ± 0.1 mm proximally and 0.3 ± 0.1 mm medially. The mean postoperative AOFAS and VAS scores improved compared with preoperatively, from 54.2 ± 12.1 to 84.6 ± 6.6 and from 6.4 ± 1.0 to 1.8 ± 1.3, respectively (P < .001 for both). No intraoperative tendon injuries were observed. CONCLUSION: Results indicated that partial step-cut osteotomy is a reliable and effective method for providing enough exposure, avoiding displacement after reduction, and not disturbing the anatomic structures behind the medial malleolus.