Abstract
High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is often performed on knees with osteoarthritis of the medial compartment. Cartilage regeneration can often be confirmed after HTO, as a result of decreased stress on load-bearing cartilage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome and factors influencing cartilage regeneration at second-look arthroscopy.
Nineteen knees with osteoarthritis were examined by second-look arthroscopy 13 months after HTO. Twelve knees had partial fibrocartilage coverage on the medial joint surface (cartilage regeneration +), and seven had no fibrocartilage coverage (cartilage regeneration −). A significant difference in the clinical outcome score was seen between the cartilage regeneration + and − groups (P<0.01).
Age, femorotibial angle (FTA) at second look, BMI and preoperative arthroscopic osteochondral grade had no influence on cartilage regeneration. Ten of 12 knees subjected to HTO with drilling had cartilage regeneration whereas 5 of 7 knees subjected to HTO without drilling had no cartilage regeneration. Thus the drilling procedure had some influence on cartilage regeneration.
In conclusion, cartilage regeneration improves the articular surface and the clinical outcome score, and one of the factors influencing cartilage regeneration is drilling.
