Arthroscopic Lift, Drill, Fill and Fix (LDFF) for Talar OCDs Stands the Test of Time: Mean 5 year Follow-Up Results in 25 Patients

CATEGORY: Ankle, Arthroscopy INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the long-term clinical and radiological outcome of a new arthroscopic fixation technique for primary osteochondral talar defects: Lift, Drill, Fill and Fix (LDFF). METHODS: Twenty-five patients underwent an arthroscopic LDFF surgery for osteochondral talar defects. Two of these patients underwent surgery on both ankles. During the LDFF technique, the OCD was identified after which an osteochondral flap was created and lifted (lift-phase). The bone flake of the OCD as well as the osteosclerotic area of the bed was drilled (drill phase). Cancellous bone was harvested from the distal tibia and transported into the defect until there was sufficient substantial filling (fill phase). Finally, the osteochondral flap was fixed with an absorbable biocompression screw (fix phase). The mean follow-up was 63 months (SD 9.2). Pre- and postoperative clinical assessment included the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (FAOS) and the numeric rating scales (NRS) of pain at rest and during walking. Remodeling and bone ingrowth after LDFF were analyzed on computed tomography scans during follow-up at one year after the surgery. RESULTS: All patients were available for final follow-up. At final follow-up, LDFF led to a significant improvement of the NRS of pain during rest and the NRS of pain during walking in all patients. The FAOS significantly improved on all 5 subscales: pain, symptoms, activities of daily living, sport and recreation and quality of life. The NRS of pain at rest significantly improved from 2.3 to 1.0 (p = 0.01), and pain with walking significantly improved from 5.7 to 1.6 (p < 0.001). In total 24 out of 25 patients, and 26 out of 27 ankles, showed remodeling and bone ingrowth on CT scans 1 year after the arthroscopic fixation procedure. No complications occurred. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopic LDFF of an osteochondral talar defect shows good long-term results at 5 year follow-up after surgery. Although the radiological results at 1-year follow-up and the long-term clinical results are encouraging, more patients and long- term radiological follow-up is necessary in order to identify prognostic factors on outcomes.