Diagnostic and operative arthroscopy of the ankle. An experimental approach.

To determine safe and effective placements of the arthroscope, 14 freshly amputated ankle joint specimens were used for experimental diagnostic and operative procedures. Preoperatively, chondral and osteochondral lesions, articular defects, and loose bodies were created within the ankle joint. The following arthroscopic portals were investigated: anteromedial, anterocentral, anterolateral, posteromedial, and posterolateral. Overlapping of vision fields was noted with the three anterior portals. Optimum visualization of a lesion was obtained when the arthroscope was placed on the same side as the lesion. Lesions on the posterior aspect of the talar dome and within the posterior talar pouch required the posterior placement of the arthroscope for optimum visualization. The use of the anterocentral approach, with a 2.7-mm arthroscope yields good visualization of the anterior aspect of the joint, and very often, of the posterior compartment. Anatomic guidelines for the avoidance of neurovascular structures and the exact placement of the arthroscope in both anterior and posterior portals are presented and were specifically defined in two additional fresh ankle specimens.