Antegrade drilling for osteochondritis dissecans of the knee

Twenty-four knees with osteochondritis dissecans of the femoral condyles failed a conservative program and were treated with antegrade drilling. To our knowledge, this represents the largest reported series using this technique. The average age at the time of surgery was 13 years 6 months. Seventeen patients had open physes, and four were skeletally mature. Nineteen lesions involved the medial femoral condyle, and five involved the lateral femoral condyle. The average follow-up was 5 years. Postoperative evaluation included rating by the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) form and the Hughston Rating Scale for osteochondritis dissecans. Twenty of the 24 lesions healed after antegrade drilling, and the average time of healing was 4 months. According to the criteria of the IKDC grading form, 14 were normal, six nearly normal, three abnormal, and one severely abnormal. The results of the Hughston Rating Scale were similar: 15 were excellent, seven good, one fair, and one poor. Only two of the four skeletally mature patients healed after antegrade drilling. Antegrade drilling is an effective method of treatment for osteochondritis dissecans of the knee that occurs in adolescents with open physes. This operation is not as likely to result in a successful outcome in patients with closed physes; consequently, other methods should be considered in skeletally mature patients.