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Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of microfracture and cell free hyaluronic acid (HA) based scaffold combination in the treatment of talus osteochondral defects (OCD).
Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated the clinical results of the 20 patients (14 males and 6 females, mean age at the time of surgery: 32.9 years (range: 16e52 years)) who were treated with MFx and cell-free HA-based scaffold combination for talus OCD smaller than 1.5 cm2 and deeper than 7 mm. Results were evaluated with AOFAS and VAS scores. Also, patients' satisfaction was questioned.
Results: Patients were evaluated after an average follow-up of 20.3 months. Intraoperative measurements showed that mean depth of the lesions were 10.4 ± 1.9 mm after debridement. The mean preoperative AOFAS score was 57.45 ± 9.37, which increased to 92.45 ± 8.4 postoperatively (p < 0.05). VAS score was improved from 7.05 ± 2.45 to 1.65 ± 2.20 postoperatively (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: MFx and cell-free HA-based scaffold combination appear to be a safe and efficient technique that provide good clinical outcomes for lesions deeper than 7 mm.
Level of evidence: Level IV, Therapeutic Study.