Stability of medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy: a failure analysis

Medial opening wedge high tibial osteotmy (HTO) is often used to treat varus gonarthrosis in young, active, highly demanding patients, although it has many pitfalls, which were evaluated in a consecutive cohort of patients. A retrospective analysis of a consecutive series of 45 patients with 49 medial opening HTO for varus gonarthrosis using a spacer plate (Puddu I, Arthrex, USA) were included. A Chi square test was used to study the effect between the wedge size and complications. Complications occurred in 22 knees (45%). There was no significant difference between groups for individual complications; however, when combined, there were significantly more complications in the > 10 mm wedge group (Chi square p = 0.05). The overall complication rate in this series was 45%. The majority were related to intrinsic instability at the osteotomy site (24%) and surgical technique (20%). The evaluated spacer provided inadequate stability.