Comparing staple fixation to buttress plate fixation in high tibial osteotomy

A retrospective study was made between July 1988 and March 1992, of 171 patients (223 knees) who had high tibial osteotomy at the Singapore General Hospital. Seventy-four cases (97 knees) had buttress plate fixation and 97 cases (126 knees) had staple fixation. The mean postoperative Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score was 87.0 for the buttress plate group and 87.4 for the staple group. The difference was statistically not significant (P > 0.05). The hospitalisation stay was shorter in the staple fixation group as compared to the buttress plate group (P < 0.05). However, the mean rehabilitation time was shorter in the buttress plate group as compared to the staple fixation group (P < 0.05). The incidence of wound infection was higher among those fixed with buttress plate (9 cases) as compared to those fixed with staple (1 case). The difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Buttress plate fixation did not seem to eliminate the risk of non-union of the osteotomy (4 out of 126 osteotomies compared to 3 out of 97 in the staple group), neither did it prevent recurrence of varus deformity (2 out of 126 osteotomies). Overall it would appear that buttress plating did not have any significant advantage over staple fixation for high tibial osteotomy.