Osteochondral lesions of the talus: location and morphological features in a Brazilian sample

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the precise location and the frequency of the osteochondral lesions of the talus. Methods: In this study, a Brazilian sample of 100 magnetic resonance imaging with the diagnosis of osteochondral lesion of the talus was analysed. Haikin’s nine zone method was used to evaluate the frequency and the morphologic characteristics of the lesions were described according to the location. The results were submitted to the statistical analysis. Results: The osteochondral lesions of the talus were located most frequently in zone centromedial or 4, followed by zone posteromedial or 7. The morphologic characteristics of the medial and lateral lesions were not statistically different, however, there was a trend to the medial lesions be more deep than the lateral lesions. Conclusions: These results were similar to Raikin’s study, in which the osteochondral lesions of the talus were more located in the equatorial and medial region of the talus, therefore the reproducibility of the nine grid system was confirmed and moreover, the precise location of the osteochondral lesions of the talus requires the three planes of the magnetic ressonance imaging.