High tibial osteotomy in degenerate diseases of the knee

Between 1970 and 1981, 64 patients underwent 77 tibial osteotomies for degenerate diseases of the knee at the Withers Orthopaedic Centre in Belfast. Records on 11 patients (12 knees) were either missing or inadequate, leaving 53 patients who underwent 65 tibial osteotomies for study. There were 23 males and 30 females, ranging in age from 23 to 75 years (mean 59.8 years). The predominant diagnosis was osteoarthrosis and the indication for operation in all cases was pain. With a follow-up of from two to ten years (mean 4.8 years), 39 knees were assessed as good, 15 as fair (improved, but still symptomatic), and 11 as failures. Patients with valgus deformity did worse than those with varus deformity. The importance of adequate pre-operative assessment is stressed, the operation itself is outlined, and the end result is seen to correlate closely with the degree of correction obtained.