The treatment of articular cartilage injuries remains a challenge because cartilage has a limited capacity for spontaneous repair. Over the past decade, a number of surgical interventions have been developed to produce a durable repair. This article reviews the available treatment options, including their indications, technique, and clinical results, and illustrates the MR imaging appearance of normal repair sites and postoperative complications.

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Chronic ankle instability has been defined as the development of recurrent ankle sprains and persistent symptoms after initial lateral ankle sprain. The diagnosis of ankle instability is usually established on the patient's history, physical examination, and radiographic assessment. Patients have signs of both functional and mechanical instability, and the repetitive, chronic nature of the injury may lead to intra-articular and periarticular pathologies. This article discusses the incidence, etiology, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of these pathologies, reviews the surgical treatment procedures for lateral ankle instability, and presents the postoperative MR imaging findings.

Two cases of unilateral proptosis due to orbital hydatid disease are reported. In both cases CT scans showed well-defined, thin-walled cystic masses whose densitometric values were similar to that of the globe.

Imaging has become an important clinical tool in the evaluation of articular cartilage, both in the clinical and research setting. This article reviews the mechanisms of articular cartilage injury in the lower extremities and their implications. Specific examples of acute and chronic repetitive injuries in the hip, knee, and ankle are used to demonstrate the characteristics of articular cartilage lesions on magnetic resonance imaging and multidetector computed tomographic arthrography. Loss of meniscal function in the knee and femoroacetabular impingement in the hip represent sources of repetitive cartilage injury that predispose the joint to osteoarthritis. Acute cartilage injury is exemplified by osteochondral lesions of the talus, which may result in post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Recognition of early cartilage damage and associated lesions may help determine the proper treatment for the patient to delay or prevent progression to osteoarthritis.