Objective: The aim of this study was to attempt to evaluate the effect of fibular osteotomy (FO) with joint debridement compared with arthroscopic debridement in terms of the degree of pain and range of motion in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).
Methods: From August 2018 to February 2020, our hospital admitted 88 patients with KOA to this prospective study. They were randomly divided into 2 groups: the FO group (44 patients) received an FO with joint debridement and the control group (44 patients) were given simple arthroscopic debridement. Detailed data regarding clinical symptoms, knee joint function and degree of pain were collected and recorded before and 3 and 6 months after surgery in order to compare the patients' quality of life (QoL), related nerve injury, delayed union, wound infection and other complications in the 2 groups.
Results: No significant difference were found regarding pre-operative clinical symptoms in the 2 groups (P > .05). However, 3 months and 6 months after surgery, the clinical symptoms in the FO group were highly associated with lower outcomes compared with the control group (P < .05). Although there were no significant differences in terms of knee function, degree of pain or QoL between the 2 groups before surgery (P > .05), there was a superior beneficial effect on the above symptoms observed in the FO group compared with the control group at 3 and 6 months. In this study, no complications such as nerve injury, delayed healing or wound infection occurred in either group.
Conclusion: The significant improvements in terms of clinical symptoms, pain and range of motion were observed following FO with joint debridement in patients with KOA. Hence, this approach may be valid for broad clinical application.