Arthroscopic treatment for anterior impingement exostosis of the ankle: application of three-dimensional computed tomography.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the operative results of excision of anterior impingement exostoses of the ankle. Preoperative three-dimensional computed tomography (3DCT) was used to make the diagnoses. The authors evaluated 16 ankles of 16 patients who underwent arthroscopic resection of the osteophytes of their anterior distal tibia or dorsal talus. They were followed up for 24-51 months. All 16 patients had 3DCT preoperatively, which allowed the authors to determine the exact location, shape, size, and number of the osteophytes. All of the osteophytes were resected using arthroscopic techniques. At the time of the most recent follow-up, the mean AOFAS score was 80.5 +/- 4.9 points at preoperation, and 97.0 +/- 3.7 points at the most recent follow-up. There were significant differences between the pre- and postoperative AOFAS scores and those of the most recent follow-up period for each group (p <.0001). It is necessary to clarify the location, size, shape, and number of all of the osteophytes preoperatively using 3DCT, and to then resect them all.