Arthroscopically assisted arthrodesis for osteoarthrotic ankles.

Arthroscopically assisted arthrodesis of the ankle was performed in nineteen patients who were selected because they had osteoarthrosis with minimum or no deformity of the ankle. After arthroscopic resection of the synovial membrane, the subchondral bone, and cartilage from the tibial, fibular, and talar articular surfaces, three percutaneous, cannulated, cancellous screws were used for internal fixation. Of these nineteen patients, ten had radiographic evidence of union by the second postoperative month; five, by the third; one, by the fifth; and one, by the sixth. Two patients had a non-union, but a successful open arthrodesis was subsequently performed on one of these patients. At two years, the scoring system of Mazur et al. indicated a poor result in one patient (after a non-union), a fair result in two, a good result in four, and an excellent result in twelve patients. Arthroscopically assisted arthrodesis of the ankle produces good results in patients who have osteoarthrosis of the ankle with minimum or no deformity, and the immediate postoperative morbidity is of very short duration.