Objective To review the application of three-dimensional (3D) printing patient-specific cutting guides (PSCG) in open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO). Methods The domestic and foreign literature about the use of 3D printing PSCG to assist the OWHTO in recent years was reviewed, and the effectiveness of different types of 3D printing PSCG to assist OWHTO was summarized. Results Many scholars design and use different 3D printing PSCGs to confirm the precise positioning of the osteotomy site (the bone surface around the cutting line, the “H” point of the proximal tibia, the internal and external malleolus fixators, etc.) and the correction angle (the pre-drilled holes, the wedge-shaped filling blocks, the angle-guided connecting rod, etc.) during operation, and all of them achieve good effectiveness. ConclusionCompared with conventional OWHTO, 3D printing PSCG assisted OWHTO has many obvious advantages, such as shortening the operation time, and the frequency of fluoroscopy, and being closer to the expected preoperative correction, etc. However, the effectiveness between different 3D printing PSCGs still need to be discussed in the follow-up studies.
Objective To investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the short-term effectiveness of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) in the treatment of varus knee arthritis. Methods The clinical data of 84 patients (84 knees) with varus knee arthritis treated with HTO between May 2016 and August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to BMI, the patients were divided into normal group (32 patients in group A, BMI<25 kg/m2), overweight group (27 patients in group B, BMI>30 kg/m2), and obese group (25 patients in group C, BMI>30 kg/m2). The BMI of groups A, B, and C were (23.35±0.89), (26.65±1.03), and (32.05±1.47) kg/m2, respectively. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in gender, age, surgical side, disease duration, and preoperative Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) score, knee range of motion, and hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA) between groups. The operation time, intraoperative dominant blood loss, and the decrease of hemoglobin on the 3rd day after operation were recorded and compared between groups. The improvement of knee joint function and pain status were evaluated by knee joint HSS score, knee range of motion, and VAS score before and after operation, and measuring the HKA of patients on X-ray film. During the follow-up, the X-ray films of the knee joint were reexamined to observe the position of the internal fixator and the healing of osteotomy. Results All patients completed the operation successfully and were followed up 8-40 months (mean, 19.3 months). There was no significant difference in follow-up time, operation time, intraoperative dominant blood loss, and the decrease of hemoglobin on the 3rd day after operation between groups (P>0.05). No operative complications such as severe vascular or nerve injury occurred. After operation, deep venous thrombosis of lower extremities occurred in 1 case in groups A and B respectively, and fat liquefaction of surgical incision occurred in 2 cases in group C. There was no significant difference in the incidence of perioperative complications between groups (3.1% vs. 3.7% vs. 8.0%) (P=0.689). During the follow-up, there was no bone nonunion, plate fracture or loosening. At last follow-up, HSS score, VAS score, knee range of motion, and HKA significantly improved in the 3 groups when compared with those before operation (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the differences of the above indexes between groups before and after operation (P>0.05). Conclusion BMI does not affect the short-term effectiveness of HTO in the treatment of varus knee arthritis. HTO can be selected for overweight and obese patients after standard medical treatment is ineffective.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of arthroscopy combined with high tibial osteotomy (HTO) in the treatment of knee medial compartment osteoarthritis and its influence on cartilage injury.MethodsThe clinical data of 57 patients with knee medial compartment osteoarthritis treated with arthroscopy combined with HTO between March 2017 and March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 27 males and 30 females with an average age of 52.4 years (range, 44-57 years). The disease duration ranged from 3 to 6 years, with an average of 3.6 years. Twenty-one cases were grade Ⅰ and 36 cases were grade Ⅱ according to Kellgren-Lawrence classification. Flexion contracture of knee joint ranged from 0° to 8° with an average of 1.36° and varus deformity ranged from 5° to 10° with an average of 7.60°. Preoperative arthroscopic evaluation showed that there were 11 cases with grade Ⅰ, 42 cases with gradeⅡ, and 4 cases with grade Ⅲ according to the international cartilage repair classification system (ICRS). Lysholm score, American Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score were used to evaluate knee function before operation, at 3 months, at 1 year after operation, and at last follow-up. Visual analogue scale (VAS) score was used to evaluate pain. The mechanical medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA) and femoral tibial angle (FTA) were measured before operation and at last follow-up. When the internal fixator was removed, the knee arthroscopy was performed again to explore the cartilage repair condition, and the regeneration level and maturity level were selected for cartilage grading evaluation.ResultsAll patients’ incisions healed by first intention after operation, and no incision infection or skin necrosis occurred. After operation, the knee joint function of the patients was significantly improved, the pain symptoms were relieved, and the force line measurement reached the target set before operation. The VAS score, Lysholm score, HSS score, and IKDC score were significantly improved at 3 months, 1 year after operation, and at last follow-up when compared with those before operation. They were gradually improved with the time and there were significant differences between time points (P<0.05). mMPTA and FTA were significantly improved at last follow-up when compared with those before operation (P<0.05). When the internal fixator was removed, the arthroscopic re-assessment found that the cartilage regeneration was classified into 10 cases of grade Ⅰ and 47 cases of grade Ⅱ; 18 cases of immature cartilage regeneration and 29 cases of mature cartilage regeneration were found in the knee joints of grade Ⅱ cartilage regeneration. There was no significant difference in the cartilage regeneration grade between different ICRS gradings (H=0.176, P=0.916), and the difference in maturity grading was significant (H=10.500, P=0.005).ConclusionArthroscopy combined with HTO for the treatment of knee medial compartment osteoarthritis can effectively improve the symptoms and function of the knee joint, and can promote the regeneration of articular cartilage.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects of the improved precision alignment method of lower limbs mecha-nical alignment for osteoarthritis of the knee in open wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO).MethodsA retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 62 patients (68 knees) with knee osteoarthritis in the medial compartment treated with OWHTO between January 2012 and December 2015 who accorded with the inclusion criteria. The traditional method for positioning lower limb mechanical force line was used in 29 cases (32 knees) (traditional group), and improved method for positioning lower limb mechanical force line in 33 cases (36 knees) (modified group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, side, course of disease, and osteoarthritis grading between two groups (P>0.05) with comparable. The operation time, intraoperative fluoroscopy times, and intraoperative blood loss were recorded in two groups; Before and after operation, the lower limb mechanical force line was observed on the X-ray films, which was expressed by hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA). The clinical efficacy was evaluated by the American Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, and the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).ResultsIncision hematoma occurred in 1 case of traditional group and was cured at 3 weeks after symptomatic treatment; and primary healing was obtained in the other patients, with no early complications. The operation time and intraoperative fluoroscopy times of the modified group were significantly lower than those of the traditional group (t=11.934, P=0.000; t=11.663, P=0.000), but there was no significant difference in blood loss between the two groups (t=0.209, P=0.835). The patients were followed up for 6 to 24 months (mean, 12.7 months) in the traditional group and for 3 to 22 months (mean, 13.2 months) in the modified group. The medial knee pain disappeared in all patients. At last follow-up, the HSS score and WOMAC score were significantly improved when compared with preoperative scores in two groups (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Postoperative X-ray examination showed that the tibiofemoral angle was corrected in the two groups. The HKA angle at immediate after operation and last follow-up was significantly higher than angle at pre-operation in two groups (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between at immediate after operation and at last follow-up (P>0.05).ConclusionCompared with the traditional method for positioning lower limb mechanical force line, the improved precision alignment method can reduce the times of intraoperative fluoroscopy and shorten the operation time, which reduces the radiation exposure of both doctors and patients.
Objective To compare the effectiveness of modified distal tibial tubercle-high tibial osteotomy (DTT-HTO) and open-wedge HTO (OWHTO) in the treatment of medial compartment osteoarthritis. Methods A clinical data of 80 patients with medial compartment osteoarthritis treated with HTO between January 2016 and January 2019 was retrospectively analyzed, including 40 patients treated with DTT-HTO (DTT-HTO group) and 40 patients treated with OWHTO (OWHTO group). There was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, affected side, disease duration, Kellgren-Lawrence grading of osteoarthritis, and preoperative knee society score (KSS), Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, knee joint visual analogue scale (VAS) score, hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA), posterior tibial slope (PTS), weight-bearing line ratio (WBL), Blackburne-Peel index (BPI), Caton-Deschamps index (CDI), and Insall-Salvati index (ISI) between the two groups (P>0.05). The operation time, incision length, bleeding volume, hospital stay, and complications in both groups were recorded. The KSS, HSS, and VAS scores were used to evaluated the effectiveness. A self-made questionnaire was used to evaluate the recovery of low-impact sports ability of the knee. X-ray films were used to observe the osteotomy healing and measure the HKA, PTS, WBL, and the patellar height indexes (BPI, CDI, ISI). Results All operations successfully completed in both groups. The OWHTO group operated longer than the DTT-HTO group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incision length, bleeding volume, and hospital stay between the two groups (P>0.05). All incisions healed by first intention in both groups. There were 2 cases of lateral hinge fractures in the OWHTO group, and 1 case of lateral hinge fracture and 2 cases of tibial plateau fractures in the DTT-HTO group. No other complications occurred. The patients in both groups were followed up 2-4 years with an average of 2.8 years. The HSS, KSS, and VAS scores in both groups significantly improved after operation when compared with preoperative scores (P<0.05). All scores gradually improved with the time and there were significant differences between different time points (P<0.05). The HSS, KSS, and VAS scores were significantly better in the DTT-HTO group than in the OWHTO group at 3 months after operation (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years (P>0.05). At 1 year, the low-impact sports ability of the OWHTO group was rated as excellent in 8 cases, general in 25 cases, and poor in 7 cases, and as excellent in 7 cases, general in 26 cases, and poor in 7 cases of the DTT-HTO group. There was no significant difference between the two groups (Z=−0.715, P=0.475). X-ray film reexamination showed that the osteotomies healed in both groups. The healing time was (4.52±1.23) months in the OWHTO group, and (4.23±1.56) months in the DTT-HTO group, showing no significant difference (t=0.923, P=0.359). At immediate after operation, the HKA and WBL of the two groups significantly improved when compared with the preoperative values (P<0.05). However, the pre- and post-operational difference was not significant between the two groups (P>0.05). The PTS of the OWHTO group was significantly higher than preoperative value (P<0.05), while the PTS of the DTT-HTO group was lower than preoperative value (P>0.05). The pre- and post-operational difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.05). BPI and CDI in the OWHTO group were significantly lower than preoperative values (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in ISI when compared with preoperative value (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the BPI, CDI, and ISI of the DTT-HTO group between pre- and post-operation (P>0.05). The pre- and post-operational differences of BPI and CDI between the two groups were significant (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the pre- and post-operational difference of ISI (P>0.05). ConclusionThe two osteotomies in the treatment of medial compartment osteoarthritis can significantly change the varus deformity and achieve satisfactory effectiveness. The early functional recovery of DTT-HTO is faster, which can avoid the increased PTS and patellar baja of traditional OWHTO. However, neither of the two surgical procedures can restore the patient’s ideal low-impact sports ability of the knee.
ObjectiveTo summarize the related research results of open wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) complicated with lateral hinge fracture. MethodsTo review the relevant literature of OWHTO at home and abroad in recent years and summarize and analyse the clinical experience. ResultsThe lateral hinge rupture may occur during the OWHTO, which may lead to the loss of correction angle after operation, delayed healing or non-union of osteotomy and so on. The lateral hinge plays an important role in the stability of the osteotomy. During the operation, the " safe zone” internal osteotomy can be used to protect the bone. Once the lateral hinge breaks, the TomoFix plate can be used to obtain the sufficient stability. For patients with lateral hinge rupture, functional exercise and full weight loading time should be guided by hinge breakage classification. ConclusionThe intact lateral hinge is beneficial to the healing and rehabilitation of OWHTO. The lateral hinge should be paid enough attention by clinicians.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical application and research status of open wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO).MethodsRelevant literature at home and abroad was reviewed, and the clinical application, effectiveness and complications, technical comparison, and surgical skills of OWHTO were summarized and analyzed.ResultsOWHTO is an effective treatment for mild to moderate medial compartment osteoarthritis due to knee varus. This method can delay the injury process of medial compartment of the knee, delay the time of total knee arthroplasty, and even avoid joint replacement surgery by adjusting the axial alignment of the lower extremity to the non-pathological lateral compartment through osteotomy and orthopedic. OWHTO has the advantages of small incision, dynamic adjustment of the axial alignment of the lower extremity, accurate correction of malformation, and rapid postoperative recovery.ConclusionWith the development of surgical instruments and techniques, OWHTO once again enter the sight of orthopedic surgeons. This technique can solve the pain symptoms of arthritis, correct the tibial varus deformity and reconstruct the axial alignment of the lower extremity, and satisfactory clinical results has been obtained.
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of double-plane high tibial osteotomy in treatment of medial compartment osteoarthritis. Methods The clinical data of 65 patients with medial compartment osteoarthritis who were treated with double-plane high tibial osteotomy between January 2014 and January 2017 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 28 males and 37 females. The age ranged from 46 to 75 years with an average of 53.2 years. There were 30 cases in the left knee and 35 cases in the right knee. The disease duration was 3-7 years (mean, 4.0 years). The patients had different degrees of pain in the knee joint and difficulty walking. The knee joint compression test was positive. The knee joint function was evaluated by Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score and knee society score (KSS) clinical and functional scores. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score was adopted to pain measurement. The healing of osteotomy was observed by X-ray films during follow-up; the femur tibia angle (FTA), posterior tibial slope (PTS), medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA), and knee varus angle (KVA) were also calculated. Results All the incisions healed by first intention after operation. Only 1 case had numbness of the toe, and the symptoms disappeared after symptomatic treatment. All patients were followed up 13-18 months with an average of 15.4 months. X-ray examination showed that all patients had bone healing at 12 weeks after operation. There were significant differences in MPTA, FTA, PTS, and KVA between pre- and post-operation (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in above parameters among 1 week, 6 months, and 12 months after operation (P>0.05). There was no loosening and rupture of the fixator during the follow-up. The HSS score and KSS clinical and functional scores at 12 months after operation were significantly higher than those before operation (P<0.05). The VAS scores at 1 week, 6 months, and 12 months after operation were significantly lower than that before operation (P<0.05). Conclusion Double-plane high tibial osteotomy for medial compartment osteoarthritis can effectively relieve pain symptoms and improve joint function.
Objective To summarize the biomechanical research progress on different fixation methods in medial opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO) and provide references for selecting appropriate fixation methods in clinical applications of MOWHTO for treating knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Methods Recent domestic and international literature on the biomechanical studies of MOWHTO fixation methods was reviewed to analyze the characteristics and biomechanical performance of various fixation techniques. Results The medial-specific osteotomy plate system has become the mainstream due to its high stiffness and stability, but issues such as soft tissue irritation and stress shielding remain. The use of filler blocks significantly enhances fixation stability and promotes bone healing when the osteotomy gap is large, reducing axial displacement by 73%-76% and decreasing plate stress by 90%. Auxiliary screws improve axial and torsional stability, particularly in cases with large correction angles, effectively preventing lateral hinge fractures. Alternative fixation methods like external fixators hold unique clinical value by minimizing soft tissue irritation and allowing postoperative adjustment. Conclusion There is currently no unified standard for selecting MOWHTO fixation methods. Clinical decisions should comprehensively consider factors such as bone quality, correction angle, and postoperative rehabilitation needs.