Successful treatment of valgus knee osteoarthritis involving external tibial torsion with a double level osteotomy: A case report

Abstract

Introduction: Abnormal torsion of the lower leg affects the alignment of the knee joint and foot, and causes impairment of both knee joint function and gait. We here present a successful adult case treated with a double level osteotomy at the distal femur and tibia.

Presentation of case: A 59-year-old woman complained of right knee pain for three years and had a deformity of her right lower limb since childhood. An advanced right tibial external torsion deformity with valgus alignment was revealed. We performed a double level osteotomy to correct both the valgus knee osteoarthritis and the external tibial torsional deformity. At the 2 year follow-up, the patient could run without pain and sit normally.

Discussion: The indications for surgery for abnormal rotation in the lower extremity are also not clear. In addition, most prior surgical reports on torsional deformity of the lower leg have been on childhood cases. Surgical treatment of valgus knee osteoarthritis involving external tibial torsion in adult has been rarely reported.

Conclusions: In our current report, we present an adult case of valgus knee osteoarthritis involving external tibial torsion that was successfully treated using a double level osteotomy. A longer follow-up is still needed however despite these positive outcomes.

Level of evidence: Ⅴ.

Keywords: Around knee osteotomy; Case report; Knee osteoarthritis; Lower-extremity rotational deformity.