Therapy
The therapy of osteochondrosis dissecans at the talus depends on the stage of the disease in which the patient is located. Particularly in young patients, spontaneous healing rates of up to 50% can be found in the early stages. Otherwise, therapy in stages I and II (in which no cartilage or bone fragments have broken off) is mainly limited to sparing the talus and physiotherapy.
If there is no healing or a transition to stage III or IV (when the piece has already broken off), a mirror image of the ankle is first taken (arthroscopy). Depending on the findings, the joint is then drilled (to accelerate the healing process), the broken piece of bone or cartilage is removed or reattached, or a cartilage-bone transplantation is performed.