Combined distal femoral osteotomy and tibial tuberosity distalization is effective in patients presenting with patellar instability and patellofemoral pain due to patella alta and femoral malalignment

Introduction Patellar malalignment has been considered one of the major pathomechanical causes of patellofemoral instability and pain. The results have been reported after femoral varization/torsional osteotomy and tibial tuberosity distalization osteotomy (TTD-O). However, the combination of a femoral deformity (genu valgum/increased femur antetorsion) and patella alta remains underreported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of patients simultaneously treated by distal femoral osteotomy and TTD-O. The hypothesis was that restoration of patellofemoral (PF) alignment via the abovementioned osteotomies would achieve good patient-reported outcome measures. Materials and methods Between 2016 and 2019, a series of 25 knees in 20 patients were treated by a distal femoral osteotomy combined with a TTD-O aiming to correct patellofemoral malalignment consisting of genu valgum and/or increased femur antetorsion and patella alta. Six patients were lost to follow-up, and one patient refused to participate. Thus, 17 knees in 13 patients (male/female 1/12; age 27.4 +/- 5.4 years) were included and comprised the study group for this investigation. Patients were evaluated after a mean of 3.1 +/- 0.9 years postoperatively. The Kujala anterior knee pain scale and the PF-subscale of the Knee Osteoarthritis and Outcome score (KOOS-PF) were used to assess patients' reported outcome measures from pre- to postoperatively. Results The mean amount of torsional correction, valgus correction, and tibial tuberosity distalization averaged 14 degrees (10 degrees-18 degrees), 5.2 degrees (3.8 degrees-8 degrees), and 9 mm (6 degrees-15 mm), respectively. The Kujala score increased by an average of 24.18 points from a mean of 66.6 +/- 18.3 points (34-93 points) preoperatively to 90.8 +/- 14.2 points (44-100 points) postoperatively (95% CI - 33.0 to - 15.3; p < 0.0001). The KOOS-PF score increased by an average of 33.7 points from a mean of 49.5 +/- 24.5 points (9.1-88.6 points) preoperatively to 83.2 +/- 21.6 points (15.9 -100 points) postoperatively (95% CI - 47.5 to - 19.9; p < 0.0001). Conclusion The findings of this study indicate that the combination of a distal femoral osteotomy and a tibial tuberosity distalization osteotomy is effective in patients presenting with patellar instability and patellofemoral pain due to patella alta and femoral malalignment.