Vejthani Hospital Bangkok offers High Tibial Osteotomy Surgery for osteoarthritis

Vejthani Hospital Bangkok offers a High Tibial Osteotomy Surgery for osteoarthritis at TJR Center. The procedure prolongs the life of a damaged knee, helps relieve pain in the knee and delays the need for a total knee replacement.

Surgical Procedure:

During a high tibial osteotomy, surgeons remove a wedge of bone from the outside of the knee, which causes the leg to bend slightly inward. This resembles the realigning of a bowlegged knee to a knock-kneed position. The patient's weight is transferred to the outside (lateral) portion of the knee, where the cartilage is still healthy.

After regional or general anesthesia is administered, the surgical team sterilizes the leg with antibacterial solution. Surgeons map out the exact size of the bone wedge they will remove, using an X-ray, CT scan, or 3D computer modeling. A four- to five-inch incision is made down the front and outside of the knee, starting below the kneecap and extending below the top of the shinbone.

Guide wires are drilled into the top of the shinbone (tibia plateau) from the outside (lateral side) of the knee. The wires usually outline a triangle form in the shinbone.

A standard oscillating saw is run along the guide wires, removing most of the bone wedge from underneath the outside of the knee, below the healthy cartilage. The cartilage surface on the top of the outside (lateral side) of the shinbone is left intact. The top of the shinbone is then lowered on the outside and attached with surgical staples or screws, depending on the size of the wedge that was removed. The layers of tissue in the knee are stitched together, usually with absorbable sutures.

Rehabilitation and Prevention:

A fall or torque to the leg during the first two months after surgery may jeopardize healing. Patients must exercise extreme caution during all activities, including walking, until healing is complete.

After rehabilitation, preventing osteoarthritis involves slowing the progression and spread of the disease. Maintaining aerobic cardiovascular fitness has been an effective method for preventing the progression of osteoarthritis. Light, daily exercise is much better for an arthritic knee than occasional, heavy exercise.