The role of proximal fibular osteotomy in the management of medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee

Abstract

Background:Young active patients with isolated medial compartment arthritis of the knee are not ideal candidates for Total knee arthroplasty. Hence there is a need for a procedure which would be ideally suited for the same. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of Proximal fibular osteotomy (PFO) in the management of these patients and to compare the results with studies of other authors as available in literature. Methods: 30 patients with medial compartment arthritis of the knee who presented between January 2015 to January 2016 were managed with PFO and were followed up for a minimum period of two years. Results: There was a male preponderance seen in our study with the right knee being most commonly affected. Postsurgery, all our patients reported dramatic pain relief with the average preoperative Visual analogue score dropping from 6.9 to a value of 2.1 in the postoperative period. There was a significant increase in the modified oxford score from a preoperative score of 52.2 to 79 in the postoperative period. Conclusion: Through this study we conclude that PFO is an excellent procedure in the management of younger patients with medial compartment arthritis of the knee provided the proper indications for surgery are met.