REALIGNMENT OSTEOTOMY

The reason joints wear out over time is often due to a combination of the type of activities you have performed, your body weight, any damage to the knee and whether you are more prone to it due to genetic makeup. However, the position of your knee in your leg can also be a factor with knees that bend out (bow-legs or varus) more likely to get wear on the inside and those that bend in (knock-knees or valgus) prone to joint wear on the outside.

If you have one of these alignments, which may only be detectable on an x-ray of your full leg, then you may be suitable for a realignment osteotomy.

Osteotomy refers to a surgical cut across the bone. The bone can then be opened or a wedge removed. The position is held in place with a specialised permanent internal plate.

• A high tibial osteotomy (HTO); the realignment occurs below the knee
• A distal femoral osteotomy (DFO); the realignment occurs above the knee