Percutaneous Hinge K-Wire and Screw in Osteotomy Around the Knee: A Technical Note

Osteotomy around the knee is a valid surgical option for patients with lower-limb malalignment due to extra-articular metaphyseal deformities as a cause of unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis. One of the most dreaded complications of this surgical procedure is the hinge fracture. One method that has been shown to prevent this complication is the use of a K-wire on the opposite side of the osteotomy, across the hinge, with the addition of a positional screw to increase the stability of the fixation. In this technical note, we describe a simple and replicable technique for inserting a hinge-protective wire and a cannulated positional screw.