Mid-term Outcomes of Autologous Osteochondral Transplantation for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus

Abstract

Category: Ankle Introduction/Purpose: Autologous osteochondral transplantation (AOT) is an established treatment for large-sized OLT, typically greater than 107mm2. Several studies have demonstrated favourable outcomes following AOT at short- and mid-term follow-up. However, the majority of the literature on AOT has short-term follow-up and little evidence exists on the mid-term and longer-term follow-up. Additionally, few studies include a large number of patients or have a high level of evidence, limiting the ability to draw broad and meaningful conclusions about the effectiveness of the AOT procedure for the treatment of OLT beyond short-term follow-up. The purpose of the current systematic review was to evaluate the clinical outcomes analysing level and quality of evidence of the AOT procedure in the treatment of OLT at mid-term and long-term follow-up. Methods: A systematic search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases was performed in October 2017 based on the PRISMA guidelines. Included studies were evaluated with regard to level of evidence (LOE) and quality of evidence (QOE) using the Coleman Methodology Score. Clinical outcomes, and complications were also evaluated. Results: Eleven studies, with 500 ankles were included at a mean 62.8 months follow-up. There were 3 studies of LOE III, and 8 studies of LOE IV. There were 3 studies of fair quality and 8 studies of poor quality. The weighted mean preoperative AOFAS score was 55.1 ± 6.1, and the postoperative score was 86.2 ± 4.5, with 87.4% of patients being reported as excellent or good results. In total, 54 of the 500 patients (10.8%) had complications. The most common complication was donor site morbidity with 18 patients (3.6%) at final follow-up. Thirty-one patients (6.2%) underwent reoperations, and the authors deemed a total of 5 ankles (1.0%) failures. Only 5 studies (45.5%) used MRI for follow-up evaluation. Conclusion: The current systematic review demonstrated that good clinical and functional outcomes can be expected following AOT procedure for the treatment of OLT, with a failure rate of only 1.0% at 63 months follow-up. MRI and radiographs showed restoration of articular surface as well as a minimal presence of osteoarthritis at mid-term follow-up. However, there is still lack of data from high LOE and QOE studies, and further high quality studies are necessary.