Severe Ankle Osteoarthritis: Treatment with Total Ankle Arthroplasty / 대한족부족관절학회지

ABSTRACT

Ankle osteoarthritis is a debilitating condition that causes severe pain associated with functional impairment and decreased activity. Ankle osteoarthritis, unlike that of the knee or hip joint, is rare in primary arthritis. Most cases are traumatic arthritis that occur after ankle sprain or fractures or chronic ankle instability. Although ankle fusion has been regarded as the standard treatment of ankle osteoarthritis in the past, total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is increasing due to the development of the implant design and surgical techniques. TAA is biomechanically superior to ankle fusion by preserving the movement of the ankle joint. In particular, it is functionally superior to ankle fusion because it enables normal joint motion during gait. In addition, there is an advantage of preserving the movement of the hindfoot and reducing the abnormal stress applied to the adjacent joints after ankle fusion to prevent the occurrence of long-term adjacent joint arthritis. Although the short-term and mid-term results of TAA have been reported to be excellent, long-term follow-up has a relatively low survival rate and high complication rate compared to total knee or hip arthroplasty. Therefore, continuous and further research is needed.