Kinematic Navigation-Guided High Tibial Osteotomy

Computer-assisted surgery systems have advanced in recent years and have become popular in orthopedic surgery. A computer-assisted system has several advantages over conventional surgery in that it can address intraoperative technical errors and ensure reliability and reproducibility. The computer-assisted surgery system (ie, navigation-guided surgery) has been applied to high tibial osteotomy to ensure accurate intraoperative assessment and preoperative planning to avoid under- or overcorrection of the lower limb axis. Although the only studies reporting navigated high tibial osteotomy results are an experimental cadaver study and a short-term clinical study, both these studies reported reliable and reproducible radiological outcomes. The navigation-assisted method differs from the conventional method in that the desired limb axis is calculated precisely and is achieved through the navigation system; in addition, the process of obtaining the desired mechanical axis is also monitored in real time. Although the long-term outcomes of navigated high tibial osteotomy are not yet known, early results increase our confidence that the long-term outcomes will be satisfactory.

Keywords: high tibial osteotomy, kinematic navigation, osteoarthritis, mechanical axis