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Short-Term Outcomes Following Fibular Shaft Osteotomy for Knee Osteoarthritis

Jian Zhang

Purpose: To evaluate short-term outcomes following fibular shaft osteotomy (FSO) for knee osteoarthritis.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from 15 patients (20 knees) undergoing FSO between April 2016 and April 2017. We measured the ratio of bilateral distances of the knee compartment (Rd) pre- and post-FSO, and conducted clinical evaluations using a visual analog pain scale (VAS) and the Knee Society Score. In addition, operation time, blood loss, and length of hospitalization of FSO patients were compared with those of 17 patients (20 knees) undergoing total knee
arthroplasty (TKA).
Results: Rd showed a non-significant increase from a mean of 0.32 pre-FSO to 0.50 post-FSO (p=0.056). However, VAS was significantly decreased (mean of 7.72 pre-FSO versus 1.89 at 48 h postoperatively, p=0.000) and average pain, knee, and functional scores were all significantly increased. Compared with TKA, operation time and length of hospitalization were significantly shorter with FSO (respectively, 131.3 versus 55.3 min, p=0.000; and 11.72 versus 5.76 days, p=0.000), and blood
loss was significantly lower (16.0 versus 122.22 ml, p=0.000).
Conclusion: FSO has an instant pain-relieving effect and is associated with rapid patient recovery. The use of FSO might be one step of staircase therapy for knee osteoarthritis.