Unintended rotation of the distal tibia occurs during medial open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO). Computed tomography (CT) is the standard method of measuring lower limb alignment; however, the new low-dose EOS system allows three-dimensional limb modeling with automated measurements of lower limb alignment. This study investigated the differences between the changes in lower limb alignment profiles obtained using the EOS system and CT in patients who underwent MOWHTO. We investigated whether any factors contributed to the degree of deformation. Thirty patients were prospectively enrolled between October 2019 and February 2023. Changes in femoral and tibial torsion, femorotibial rotation, and posterior tibial slope were measured using pre- and post-MOWHTO CT and EOS images. We found no significant difference in pre- and postoperative tibial torsion or posterior tibial slope between CT and EOS. No variables showed a significant correlation with changes in the tibial torsion or posterior tibial slope. This study confirmed the possibility that the EOS system could replace CT in measuring changes in several parameters pre- and postoperatively. Furthermore, we confirmed that the distal tibia tended to be internally rotated after MOWHTO; however, we found no significantly related parameters related to deformation caused by MOWHTO.
Keywords: EOS imaging; computed tomography; malalignment; osteotomy; rotational alignment.