The gap height in open wedge high tibial osteotomy is not affected by the starting point of the osteotomy

Abstract

Abstract Introduction In open-wedge high-tibial-osteotomy (OWHTO), most surgeons use a preoperative planning software and realise that they should match the intraoperative alignment correction with the preoperative plan. We aimed to determine whether there is a difference in osteotomy gap height when starting the OWHTO either 3 or 4 cm distal to the joint line. This should help to clarify whether the osteotomy starting point must exactly match the preoperative planning. Methods 25 patients with constitutional varus alignment were planned for OWHTO. Long-leg-standing-radiographs and mediCAD-software were used. Osteotomy was planned to a neutral Hip-Knee-Ankle angle (HKA) of 0°. The osteotomy-starting-point was either 3 or 4 cm distal to the medial joint line. The following angles were compared: mechanical medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA), mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA), joint line conversion angle (JCA), mechanical Tibio-Femoral angle (mTFA) or Hip Knee Ankle (HKA) angle. Results 25 Patients (18 males, 7 females) had a mean age of 62 ± 16.6 years and showed a varus-aligned leg-axis. The HKA was − 5.96 ± 3.02° with a mMPTA of 82.22 ± 1.14°. After osteotomy-planning to a HKA of 0°, the mMPTA was 88.94 ± 3.01°. With a mean wedge height of 8.08 mm when locating the osteotomy 3 cm and a mean wedge height of 8.05 mm when locating the osteotomy 4 cm distal to the joint-line, there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.7). Conclusion When performing an OWHTO aiming towards the tip of the fibula, the osteotomy starting point does not need to exactly match the planned starting-location of the osteotomy. A starting-point 1 cm more distal or proximal than previously determined through the digital planning does not alter the size of the osteotomy gap needed to produce the desired amount of correction.