Bone Abstracts

The purposes of this present study were to compare the osteoconductivity and absorbability in patients of open wedge high tibial osteotomy with medially gaps filled with hydroxyapatite (HA) or beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP).

Total 41 knees of 40 patients in whose follow up period more than 1 year were enrolled. The patients were divides into two groups, group I (22 knees, 21 patients) used HA and group II (19knees, 19 patients) used β-TCP.

According to proven method, the osteoconductivity was assessed by the radiographic change of osteotomy line and absorbability was evaluated using the occupied area of substitutes at immediate postoperative, postoperative 6 months and 1 year.

In each group, no statistically significant changes of lower limb alignment (mFTA, WBL%) and posterior slope between postoperative and final follow up radiographs were confirmed. Concerning the osteoconductivity, there were no significant differences between two groups in any zone. However, the absorption rate was significantly greater in the group II than in group I at 6months (group I: 13.7±6.8, group II: 35.3±15.8, P= 0.001) and 1 year (group I: 24.2±6.3, group II: 49.6±14.3, P< 0.0001). The complications related to bone substitutes were not observed.

Both HA granule and β-TCP wedge showed satisfactory gap healing without complications and can be successfully used as alternative healing materials in opening wedge high tibia osteotomy.

Keywords: osteoconductivity, absorbability, hydroxyapatite, tricalcium, phosphate open wedge high tibial osteotomy