A fresh appraisal of tibial osteotomy for osteoarthritis of the knee.

A retrospective study was performed on 189 arthritic knees treated by tibial osteotomy at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford, England to determine the quality of the results. The objective results were deduced from a numerical system of grading of pain, function, and movement, for 132 osteoarthritic knees. No statistical difference was found between high and low tibial osteotomies. Varus and male knees fared better than valgus and female knees. The result was significant only for the male varus group. Correction of the angular deformity had a profound influence on the results for varus but not for valgus knees. A joint tilt increase usually occurred and was associated with increased subluxation and instability in valgus knees but decreased or unchanged subluxation in varus knees. This was held to be an important cause of failure to achieve good results in valgus knees, and appeared to be an irremedial fault of tibial osteotomy.