Abstract: Objective To evaluate the clinical outcomes of fibular osteotomy with and without fixation in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis patients. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the clinical outcomes and radiographic parameters from June 2012 to December 2018, in 100 knee osteoarthritis patients who underwent single fibular osteotomy or fibular osteotomy with fixation, 50 patients in each group. The changes in the femoro-tibial angle(FTA), femorotibial angle(JS angle)on X-ray, the Japanese Orthopedic Association Knee Score(JOA score)were compared after the operation for 2 months, 6 months, 12 months. Results All patients were conducted followed-up study. No significant differences in JOA were observed between the groups before the operation(P>0.05). 66.00% of the patients who underwent fibular osteotomy with fixation got pain relief in short term(after 2 months), 90.00% patients got pain relief after 6 months, nearly all patients were observed pain relief after 12 months. While in the other group, there was 34.00% patients got pain relief in short term(after 2 months), 80.00% patients got pain relief after 6 months, 86.00% patients got pain relief after 12 months. FTA, JS angle were significant decreased in both groups, most patients exhibited improved walking postoperatively. Conclusion Satisfactory outcomes can be achieved with both operations in patients with knee osteoarthritis, however, fibular osteotomy with fixation indicates faster recovery and better early stability than simple fibular osteotomy.

Key words: fibula, osteotomy, internal fixation, knee, osteoarthritis