Distraction Arthroplasty as Treatment for Ankle Osteoarthritis

신연 관절 성형술을 이용한 족근 관절 골관절염의 치료증

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of distraction arthroplasty as treatment for moderate or severe ankle osteoarthritis Materials and Methods: Thirteen patients who underwent distraction arthroplasty using the Ilizarov external fixator were available. We removed osteophytes around the ankle before applying the external fixator. We encourage the patients to do active range of motion exercise and to walk with cruch. Follow-up averaged 15 months (range, 10-31 months). Both the patients' postoperative satisfaction and the radiographic joint space were retrospectively evaluated. Results: The duration from applying the external fixator to remove was 12 weeks. Breakage of the wire applied to the forefoot occurred in 2 cases. All patients satisfied with the postoperative clinical results. The ankle joint space averaged $1.6{\pm}0.2mm$ in pre-operative, $4.2{\pm}0.9mm$ in post-Ilizarov external fixator's removal, and $2.3{\pm}0.3mm$ in last follow-up ankle lateral view. Conclusion: We think that distraction arthroplasty with external fixator is useful operative method for the moderate or severe ankle osteoarthritis.