[Basic principles and surgical technique of tibio-fibula-plasty in cartilage-bone transplantation]

Within the last few years autologous cartilage-bone-grafting is becoming an established standardized procedure in joint surgery. One significant disadvantage of this technique is the harvesting of the bone plugs from the weight-bearing area of the knee joint.

The tibiofibular articulation is located close to the knee joint that is operated on. This articulation is covered with cartilage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the question, whether this joint is suitable as a donor site for bone-cartilage transplants.

Favourable approaches and committing of anatomical landmarks were investigated on 44 fixed tibiofibular joints. In knee extension, the shortest distance between the joint cleft and common fibular nerve was measured. The cartilage thickness and histology of both the fibular and tibial joint surface were documented. The developed surgical approach was evaluated in patients.

Histological and immunohistochemical examination showed hyaline cartilage and type II collagen. The average cartilage thickness was 1.9 +/- 0.29 mm (minimum: 1.5 mm; maximum: 2.6 mm). The peroneal nerve showed an average distance to the tibiofibular joint of 24 mm (minimum: 12 mm; maximum: 30 mm). Different surgical procedures are possible and clinical relevant.

The tibiofibular joint contains cartilage, which may be a reasonable donor site even for the elderly patient. Harvesting the graft from this area may avoid iatrogenic damaging of intraarticular weight bearing cartilage of the knee joint.