Biomechanical superiority of plate fixation for proximal tibial osteotomy

James M. Hartford, Peter Hester, Phil M. Watt, Doris Hamilton, Michael Rohmiller, David Pienkowski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Proximal tibial osteotomies require secure and durable fixation to allow early range of motion; however, biomechanical data comparing commonly used fixation methods are lacking. The current study was done to quantify the dynamic biomechanical performance of blade staple fixation and plate fixation of simulated proximal tibial osteotomies. A 15° proximal tibial osteotomy was done on each of 18 synthetic adult composite tibias. Blade staples were used as the means of fixation in nine tibias; plate fixation was used in the remaining nine tibias. The specimens were stressed cyclically in sinusoidal loading whose peak compression and tension loads imitate those measured during normal gait. Device performance was quantified by measuring displacement at the osteotomy site and the number of cycles to failure. Plate fixation had a greater fatigue life than staples (eight plates surviving past 200,000 cycles versus one blade staple) and showed a trend toward less displacement (0.69 mm versus 0.97 mm). Plate fixation of proximal tibial osteotomies offers better fixation and dynamic mechanical performance than blade staples.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)125-130
Number of pages6
JournalClinical Orthopaedics and Related Research
Volume412
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Orthopedics and Sports Medicine

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