The Effect of Plate Types on Tibial Plateau Angle (TPA) and Mechanical Medial Proximal Tibial Angle (mMPTA) after Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy

Abstract

Various types of specialized plates are available for tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO). The tibial plateau angle (TPA) and mechanical medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA) were measured in cases in which TPLO was performed with a Slocum plate (SP), locking compression TPLO plate (LCP), and dynamic compression plate (DCP) at 0, 1, 2, and 3 months after surgery. Complications in LCP group tended to be fewer than the other groups. The recheck TPA after surgery in the SP and DCP group were significantly higher than that immediately after surgery, whereas there were no changes in the postoperative TPA over time in the LCP group. There were neither changes in the postoperative mMPTA over time in any group nor any significant difference in the ground reaction force among the three groups. These results suggest that LCPs are very useful to maintain the alignment of the proximal tibial fragment compared with SPs or DCPs, although other plates are clinically acceptable.