[Arthroscopy prior to osteotomy in cases of unicondylar osteoarthritis]

Osteotomy around the knee is an established procedure in orthopaedic surgery. However, there is no consensus regarding whether the patient should have arthroscopy prior to osteotomy in the same operative session.

This prospective study included 300 cases of osteotomy around the knee with routine arthroscopy. During arthroscopy, the indication for osteotomy was checked first. Then the cartilage status was determined to modify the type and degree of osteotomy correction accordingly. Finally, therapeutic procedures were performed in cases of intraarticular pathology.

The indication for osteotomy was rejected in 51 cases because of worse cartilage status than expected. Twelve patients received immediate or early endoprosthetic treatment. In 208 cases, the degree of correction was modified, in five cases at the level of the osteotomy. For the 288 nonendoprosthetic sessions, there were 268 arthroscopies with therapeutic treatments.

This study demonstrated that arthroscopy is indispensable for checking the indications for osteotomy, modifying the type and degree of correction, and performing therapeutic procedures.