Fibula ostectomy in painful genu varum of the knee. Preliminary results after a year of the surgery

Abstract

Introduction: the fibular osteoarthritis could be a very invalidating disease due to its symptoms, characterized by pain, insecurity and functional loss. It is a degenerative disease whose prevalence has increased during the last decades, tightly linked to population ageing.
Objective: to validate the technique of fibular ostectomy in the painful genu varum as a new treatment option.
Materials and Methods: a prospective, lineal study was carried out in the Military Hospital “Dr. Mario Muñoz Monroy”, of Matanzas, from April 2016 to August 2017. It was used the new technique of Dr. Ying-Ze Zhang, from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery of the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University in Shijiazhuang, China. Currently there is a series of cases of 75 patients, with 84 operated knees; the results of the first 11 operated patients, are presented here after a year of the surgery.
Results: the average age was 64.3 years, 45 years the youngest and 84 years the eldest; from them, 8 were men and 3 women. The analogical visual scale for the pre and post-surgical pain was applied during the gait and when going upstairs. During the gait all the patients were above 6, and when climbing upstairs above 7. After a year from the operation 10 patients got an evaluation between 0 and 3 points during the gait, and 9 got the same score when climbing steps; one got 5, and only 1 patient kept the same score than before the operation. Taking into account these scores, 9 patients were evaluated as good, 2 regular, and there were 3 complications.
Conclusions: after a one-year follow-up, the pain greatly improves, improving patients’ security during the gait.