Ankle Interpositional Xenograft Arthroplasty

The options for managing ankle arthritis in younger, active patients are limited and include arthrodesis, distraction arthroplasty, allograft joint replacement, and distal tibial osteotomies. The use of xenograft material has gained popularity and been used successfully in orthopedics for tendon and cartilage repair in the recent years. We describe a technique of interpositional ankle arthroplasty by using xenograft collagen material (SurgiMend; TEI Biosciences, Boston, MA). Although long-term outcomes are still unknown, the short-term follow up is very promising. This procedure is a valuable technique in the armamentarium of procedures to surgically treat ankle arthritis in younger patients.