Time to Bone Union after Hybrid Closed-Wedge High Tibial Osteotomy

Medial open- and lateral closed-wedge high tibial osteotomy (hybrid CWHTO) can overcome the limitations of conventional CWHTO and open-wedge HTO (OWHTO) for medial compartmental osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Hybrid CWHTO increases stability by using a rigid locking plate and allows early full weight-bearing. However, the literature contains no information about time to bone union after this new procedure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the time to bone union after hybrid CWHTO. We reviewed 44 knees treated with hybrid CWHTO. Patients were able to stand on both legs on the day after surgery and walked with full weight-bearing within 4 weeks of the procedure. The time to achievement of bone union at the osteotomy site was defined as the number of months until bone union was confirmed on radiographic imaging. The mean time to radiographic confirmation of bone union was 4.5±1.5 months after surgery. Eleven knees (25.0%) required 6 months or more. Radiographic analysis and JOA score improved significantly between before and 1 year after surgery (p<0.01). Hybrid CWHTO is a very useful method for treating medial OA, but radiographic bone union requires 4.5 months on average. We must be aware of bone union after hybrid CWHTO.