Abstract
Nineteen cases of osteonecrosis-like syndrome of the tibial plateau were diagnosed. Characteristics of this syndrome are sudden onset of knee pain, associated with hydrarthrosis and tenderness in the upper tibia. Definitive diagnosis is made by pathological evidence of bone necrosis, but early stage cases are only diagnosed by intense radionuclide bone uptake in the tibial plateau. Cases were classified into 5 types according to X-ray findings. These were similar to the 4 classes of femoral condyle necrosis (by Koshino et al), and a new rapidly destructive type was added following the authors observations. Thus type 1 had 2 cases, type 2 had 2 cases, type 3 had 2 cases, type 4 had 9 cases and the rapidly destructive type had 4 cases. In this syndrome, cases that were Judged to be more advanced than type 2 required surgical treatment, and their prognosis was benign.
