From 1977 through 1985, thirty-two patients were treated for
osteochondritis dissecans of the dome of the talus. The diagnosis was
established in two-thirds of the patients using ordinary roentgenograms,
but it was established in all of them using computed tomography scans.
After a mean length of follow-up of about five years, the results of
surgical treatment were significantly better than those of conservative
treatment. For twenty patients, computed tomography scans were superior to
roentgenograms in showing healing of the lesion. We concluded that computed
tomography is useful not only for diagnosis--that is, in determining the
extent and precise location of the lesion--but also for follow-up.