[Management of Osteochondral Lesions of the Ankle Joint by Implantation of Autologous Chondrocytes].

UNLABELLED: PUPOSE OF THE STUDY The treatment of osteochondral lesions of weight-bearing joints remains a serious therapeutic challenge, largely due to the minimal ability of articular hyaline cartilage to regenerate. The authors present the long-term clinical and MRI results of treating deep chondral and osteochondral defects of the ankle joint by the method of implantation of autologous chondrocytes in the form of a solid chondrograft. MATERIAL AND METHODS The method of solid chondrograft implantation in the ankle joint was used in our Department from the year 2003. Between 2003 and 2013, this method was used in 31 patients, 16 men and 15 women. Their average age at the time of implantation was 29 years (16 to 50 years). The follow-up period ranged from 16 to 145 months (average, 57 months). The clinical outcome was evaluated using the Mazur questionnaire. At follow-up all patients underwent regular MRI examinations and the results were assessed on the basis of Magnetic Resonance Observation of Cartilage Repair Tissue (MOCART) scores. Twelve patients required a second-look arthroscopy. RESULTS A comparison of the Mazur pre-operative scores with those obtained at 1, 2 and 5 years post-operatively showed marked improvement of ankle joint function. The average pre-operative value of 30.0 (based on responses of 31 patients) increased to the average of 89.7 (based on results of 11 patients). At 1 year post-operatively, the average MOCART score for a group of 18 patients was 78.3; at 5 post-operative years, the average value for nine patients examined was 77.0. Complete filling of defects at 1 year of follow-up was found in 88.1% and , at 5 years, it was recorded in 83.3% of the patients examined. DISCUSSION The articular hyaline cartilage is a highly differentiated tissue and its ability of repair is very limited. Therefore every damage to the articular surface should be regarded as a pre-arthritic condition// disease. Currently, there are several options of treating a damaged articular cartilage, but none of them makes its complete healing certain. A lot of studies concerned with longterm results of implanting autologous chondrocytes in the knee are available in the literature, but only few authors present long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of ankle joint treatment similar to ours. CONCLUSIONS Based on our clinical and MRI results, the method of autologous chondrocyte implantation can be recommended since it has good long-term results, provides repair of articular cartilage and allows for patients' return to activities of daily living.

KEY WORDS: chondral defect, hyaline cartilage, autologous chondrocyte, ankle joint.