The effect of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) on the stress distribution across the knee joint is not completely understood. Subchondral bone density is considered to reflect the pattern of stress distribution across a joint surface.
To assess the distribution of subchondral bone density across the proximal tibia in nonarthritic knees and in the knees of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) before and after HTO.
Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.
We retrospectively collected radiological and computed tomography data from 16 patients without OA (control group) and 17 patients with OA. Data from the OA group were collected before and 1.5 years after HTO. Subchondral bone density of the proximal tibia was assessed with computed tomography-osteoabsorptiometry. The locations and percentages represented by high-density areas (HDAs) on the articular surface were quantitatively analyzed.
The ratio of the HDA of the medial compartment to the total HDA (medial ratio) was significantly higher in the preoperative OA group (mean, 80.1%) than in the control group (61.3%) (
In this exploratory study, HTO shifted the HDA of the medial compartment of the proximal tibial articular surface toward the lateral compartment. In contrast, the HDA of the most lateral region of the medial compartment increased after HTO. This change in subchondral bone density may result from the change in stress distribution.