MRI has been little utilised in the post-operative assessment of joint replacement due to the problem of artifact. With modern machines and sequencing, artifact can be minimised in small joints with titanium prostheses. Twenty four consecutive patients implanted with a Buechel-Pappas Total Ankle Replacement underwent MRI examination at an average of 583 days post surgery to determine its usefulness as an adjunct to x-ray and bone scan in assessing prosthetic integrity and the source of post-operative symptoms.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the use of modified MRI techniques in the assessment of bone-implant interface, soft tissue changes, bone oedema and extent of osteolysis in setting of total ankle joint replacement and propose a descriptive classification to document the changes.

We found MRI was extremely useful in identifying abnormalities in structures apart from the prosthesis such as occult degeneration in the subtalar joint and ligament pathology. Despite the new techniques, artifact remains a problem when assessing the bone prosthesis interface although adjacent bone oedema is well seen.

MRI has a role in the identification of pathology in the tissues surrounding a TAJR especially with unexplained pain in an otherwise well functioning prosthesis. It's role in the assessment of prosthetic integrity remains qualitative but further work will be required to correlate MRI findings with clinical examination.