The Use of Allograft in Joint-preserving Surgery for Ankle Osteochondral Lesions and Osteoarthritis

The surgical management of young patients with large osteochondral lesions of the talus or end-stage osteoarthritis of the ankle joint presents a challenge to the orthopedic surgeon because these are well-recognized sources of pain and dysfunction. Procedures designed to address these disorders either have a limited role because of poor success rates or have significant implications, such as with the total ankle arthroplasty. Fresh osteochondral allografts allow defective tissue to be anatomically matched and reconstructed through transplantation. This article presents an overview of fresh osteochondral allografts, as well as potential concerns with their use, and summarizes the current literature.