Required force for distraction during medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy may serve as a predictive indicator for lateral hinge fracture.

Introduction: Medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy is a biological procedure for treating unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis. The literature repeatedly highlights the significance of preserving an intact lateral hinge during this procedure. We investigated the temporal course of distraction forces during distraction at the osteotomy site, aiming to quantitatively measure and analyse temporal changes in distraction forces at different distraction points for intact and fractured lateral hinges.