Comparison of extended lateral approaches to the tibial plateau: The articular exposure of lateral epicondyle osteotomy with and without popliteus tendon vs. fibula osteotomy

BACKGROUND: Comminuted lateral tibial plateau fractures pose a challenge to surgeons, with non-anatomical reductions in 70-89%, involving the posterolateral articular surface. The purpose of this study was to examine the posterolateral joint visibility, using lateral extended approaches, such as the lateral femoral epicondyle osteotomy or the fibula osteotomy. Further, the study aimed to compare the combined osteotomy of the femoral footprints of the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and popliteus tendon (PLT) to the isolated osteotomy of the femoral LCL footprint or the fibula osteotomy, in terms of posterolateral joint accessibility.

METHODS: Extended lateral (femoral or fibular LCL osteotomy) and posterolateral (additional femoral osteotomy of the PLT tendon) approaches were performed on twelve human cadaver knees. After preparation of each surgical approach, the visible articular surface was marked with diathermy. The tibial plateau was disarticulated and the markings were measured digitally with open-source processing software. Differences in mean values were tested with a paired t-test (p ≤ 0.05).

RESULTS: The greatest articular exposure was achieved with the fibula osteotomy (1011.52 ± 227.05 mm2 [86.64 ± 4.84%] compared to the combined osteotomy of LCL and PLT (p = 0.036) or LCL alone (p<0.001). The lateral femoral epicondyle osteotomy of the LCL including the PLT (937.45 ± 237.84 mm2 [80.29 ± 8.25%]) exposed a significantly larger articular surface of the lateral tibial plateau than without the PLT (755.71 ± 183.06 mm2 [64.73 ± 6.51%], p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: In direct comparison, the fibula osteotomy provides the largest articular visualization, however at cost of a considerably larger soft tissue damage. While the lateral femoral epicondyle osteotomy of LCL and PLT increases lateral articular visualization, it omits the risk of neurovascular or posterolateral soft tissue damage and therefore represents an important extended approach to treat comminuted lateral plateau fractures.