ABSTRACT
High tibial osteotomy has become an accepted treatment for patients with varus degenerative
arthritis of the knee. We sought to determine factors associated with patient satisfaction
and functional outcome following medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy for the
degenerative varus knee. Sixty-one patients (14 women and 47 men) undergoing medial
opening wedge osteotomy and chondral resurfacing procedure (microfracture) for medial
knee pain, with minimum 2-year follow-up, were identified through our clinical database.
Mean patient age was 52.2 years (range: 35-65 years). Thirty patients were treated
with plate fixation, and 31 with distraction osteogenesis and external fixation. Nineteen
patients had Outerbridge grade III or IV patellofemoral lesions at initial surgery.
The mean preoperative Lysholm score of 49.9 improved postoperatively to 75.4 (P < .001). Mean satisfaction score was 7.6 (1 = not satisfied, 10 = very satisfied).
Women showed a significantly higher improvement in Lysholm and satisfaction scores
than men (P=.029, P=.034). A positive correlation was observed between satisfaction and postoperative
Lysholm score (P < .001). The independent multivariate predictor of patient satisfaction was the postoperative
Lysholm score. Medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy is an efficacious surgical
option for the treatment of the degenerative varus knee, as demonstrated by both patient
satisfaction and functional outcome scores.
