Distal femoral varus osteotomy for lateral osteoarthritis of the knee: a minimum ten-year follow-up.

Distal femoral varus osteotomy (DFVO) may be indicated for symptomatic lateral compartment gonarthrosis associated with valgus deformity in younger, active patients. Thirty-three consecutive DFVOs (31 patients) with a minimum follow-up of ten years (mean 15.1, range 10-25) were reviewed. Fifteen DFVOs were converted to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and one DFVO was awaiting TKA, reaching an overall failure rate of 48.5% at a mean of 15.6 years (range 6-21.5). Of the remaining 17 DFVOs, ten (58.8%) had good or excellent results, two (11.8%) had fair results and five (29.4%) had poor results. Mean modified Knee Society scores improved significantly (p < 0.01) from 36.8 preoperatively to 77.5 at one year post DFVO. DFVO is a viable treatment alternative for lateral compartment gonarthrosis. Conversion to TKA is expected to be required in approximately half of the patients at a mean of 15.6 years.