Existence of Gender-Based Difference in Morphology of Convex Lateral Tibial Plateau in Korean Population Primary Knee Joint Osteoarthritis

PURPOSE: Morphological differences in the knee joints of females and males have been reported in a previous study. These differences have realized the need of developing a gender-specific prosthesis. However, anatomical studies on gender-based differences in the proximal tibial plateau's sagittal curvature have rarely been conducted. Therefore, this study is aimed at evaluating the geometry of the sagittal curvature of the proximal tibial plateau in the Korean population. METHODS: Three-dimensional data for the sagittal curvature of the tibial plateau morphology from 1976 patients (i.e., 299 male and 1677 female) were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging. The sagittal profiles of the tibial plateaus were also evaluated. The independent t-test and paired t-test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The proximal tibia had concave and convex surfaces in the medial and lateral plateaus, respectively, for both genders. In addition, the medial diameter of the tibial plateau was significantly greater than the lateral diameter for both genders. Gender-based difference was not found in the medial diameter of the tibial plateau but was observed in the lateral diameter. CONCLUSION: These results may provide guidelines for a suitable knee implant design for the Korean patients. The incorporation of this shape information in the medial and lateral sides in the prosthetics for a total knee arthroplasty and a lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty can improve knee range motion.