The effect of distal tibial rotation during high tibial osteotomy on the contact pressures in the knee and ankle joints.

Purpose: Intraoperative fracture of the lateral cortex fractures of the tibia is a potential complication of high tibial osteotomy (HTO), which may result in inadequate rotational alignment of the distal tibia. Our aim was to determine how rotational malalignment of the distal tibial segment distal would affect intraarticular contact pressure distribution in the knee and ankle joints.

Methods: A medial, L-shaped opening-wedge HTO was performed on seven human lower body specimens.

Effect of medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy on intraarticular knee and ankle contact pressures.

High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is a commonly used surgical technique for treating moderate osteoarthritis (OA) of the medial compartment of the knee by shifting the center of force towards the lateral compartment. Previous studies have documented the effects of HTO on the biomechanics of the knee. However, the effects of the procedure on the contact pressures within the ankle joint have not been as well described.