Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Head of the Talus

Abstract

We present a case of osteochondritis dissecans of the head of the talus, without a history of trauma. The clinical and radiological features and a 2-year and 3-month follow-up are discussed.

Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus: Change in MRI Findings Over Time in Talar Lesions Without Operative Intervention and Implications for Staging Systems

“…However, talar osteochondral lesions can occur without a history of trauma, 8,10,12,15,17 and several theories as to their etiology have been proposed including repeated microtrauma, ossification abnormalities, endocrine factors, abnormal vasculature, embolic phenomena, and genetic predisposition. 7,10,19 MRI has become a valuable tool in the diagnosis and staging of talar osteochondral lesions.…”

Osteochondritis dissecans of the talar head

“…One of our patients had a much longer follow-up (7 years) than the previously reported two patients, who had a follow-up of 12 and 27 months, respectively [5,6]. Their symptoms resolved with rest, judicious use of antiinflammatory medications, and activity modification.…”

“…Osteochondritis involving the talar head has been mentioned in only two previously published reports in English literature [5,6]. These are both case reports with a short follow-up (12 and 27 months, respectively).…”

An example of unhealed osteochondritis dissecans of the medial cuneiform

“…The condition was first described by Sir James Paget in 1870 and the term osteochondritis dissecans was coined by Kö nig some 7 years ( Dickson & Sartoris, 1991;Dipaola et al, 1991;Canosa, 1994;Woods & Harris, 1995;Dolan et al, 1997;Iannacone & Dalton, 1997;Higuera et al, 1998). Other ankle locations, including the calcaneus (Nafei et al, 1990), the navicular (Richter et al, 1985;Walther-Larsen & Larsen, 1985;Exner et al, 1991) and the cuboid (Anderson, 2000) are extremely rare.…”

“…Formerly, it was considered to be secondary to trauma but more recent research has shown that not all cases are associated with injury (Mubarak & Carroll, 1981;Dolan et al, 1997). It is possible that a localized delay in ossification may be responsible for the defect (Barrie, 1987).…”