Fresh Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation for Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: A Systematic Review.

Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs) are difficult to treat. Despite a multitude of interventions, there are no generally-agreed-upon guidelines regarding treatment. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of clinical outcomes after fresh osteochondral allografts transplantation of the talus. PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, EMBASE, and Medline were searched using PRISMA guidelines. Studies that evaluated outcomes after fresh osteochondral allograft transplantation for OLTs were included. Clinical outcomes, according to standardized scoring systems, such as the American Orthopaedics Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Ankle/Hindfoot Scale and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were compared across studies. The literature search yielded 12 eligible studies with a mean Coleman Methodology Score of 68.1 (57-79). A total of 191 patients were included with an average age of 37.5 (17-74) years and average follow-up of 56.8 (6-240) months. The AOFAS Ankle/Hindfoot score was obtained pre- and postoperatively in 6 of the studies and had significant improvements in each (p < .05). Similarly, the VAS pain score was evaluated in 5 studies and showed significant decreases from pre- to postoperatively (p < .05). While there were no reported short-term complications, 21.6% of patients required minor subsequent procedures, most commonly arthroscopic debridement and hardware removal. The aggregate graft survival rate was 86.6%. Based on these findings, osteochondral allograft transplantation for OLTs results in positive outcomes with high rates of graft survival and patient satisfaction at intermediate follow-up.