Changes in load distribution in the knee after opening-wedge or closing-wedge high tibial osteotomy

The treatment of unicompartmental osteoarthritis of the knee by high tibial osteotomy has been carried out by closing-wedge osteotomy. The advantages for opening-wedge osteotomy are ease of procedure and improved correction with comparable short-term to midterm results. It is not known how the opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy procedure alters the load distribution between the medial and lateral compartments of the knee. The current biomechanical study investigated opening-wedge vs closing-wedge osteotomies in 5 pairs of cadaver knees. The results showed that at 5 degrees osteotomy, the closing-wedge provided superior results of load transfer from medial to lateral compartment than that seen with opening-wedge, but at 10 degrees osteotomy, there was no significant difference in load transfer in the knee compartments between the 2 surgery modes.