ABSTRACT
Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) frequently manifest following ankle joint trauma, causing ankle pain, swelling and impaired mobility, thereby significantly impeding daily activities of the patients. Presently, clinical treatment approaches encompass both conservative management and surgical intervention. Conservative management endeavors to alleviate symptoms, while patients experiencing persistent symptoms resort to surgical intervention. Commonly employed surgical treatments encompass bone marrow stimulation, autologous osteochondral transplantation, and allogeneic osteochondral transplantation. Bone marrow stimulation is employed as a therapeutic approach for the management of smaller OLT, demonstrating favorable short-term effectiveness; however, the long-term prognosis remains uncertain. Autologous osteochondral transplantation is a viable option for larger OLT lesions, albeit it carries the potential of complications at the donor site. Conversely, allogenic osteochondral transplantation exhibits a diminished success rate. In recent times, the utilization of cell transplantation techniques has garnered escalating interest in the treatment of OLT due to their capacity to regenerate cartilage resembling hyaline and their diverse range of cellular origins. The authors reviewed the progress of cell transplantation in the treatment of OLT, providing a reference for the clinical treatment.