High tibial osteotomy in knee laxities: Concepts review and results

Patients with unstable, malaligned knees often present a challenging management scenario, and careful attention must be paid to the clinical history and examination to determine the priorities of treatment. Isolated knee instability treated with ligament reconstruction and isolated knee malalignment treated with periarticular osteotomy have both been well studied in the past. More recently, the effects of high tibial osteotomy on knee instability have been studied. Lateral closing-wedge high tibial osteotomy tends to reduce the posterior tibial slope, which has a stabilising effect on anterior tibial instability that occurs with ACL deficiency. Medial opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy tends to increase the posterior tibia slope, which has a stabilising effect in posterior tibial instability that occurs with PCL deficiency. Overall results from recent studies indicate that there is a role for combined ligament reconstruction and periarticular knee osteotomy. The use of high tibial osteotomy has been able to extend the indication for ligament reconstruction which, when combined, may ultimately halt the evolution of arthritis and preserve their natural knee joint for a longer period of time. Cite this article: Robin JG, Neyret P. High tibial osteotomy in knee laxities: Concepts review and results. EFORT Open Rev 2016;1:3-11. doi: 10.1302/2058-5241.1.000001.