Evaluation of Satisfaction Levels of Patients Undergoing High Tibial Osteotomy

Objective: High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is a surgical treatment method applied for isolated-medial gonarthrosis. Successful results were reported in different studies. We have evaluated the satisfaction levels of the patients and the clinical results of HTO. Materials and Methods: Ninety-nine patients who underwent open wedge osteotomy as the surgical treatment of medial gonarthrosis between the years 2002 and 2006 were included in our study. The mean age at the time of surgery was 54.9 years, and the mean follow-up time was 6.8 years. Results: Patients were asked whether they were satisfied with the operation or not; 41 of them (41.4%) were completely satisfied, 30 patients (30.3%) were partially satisfied, and 28 of them (28.3%) were dissatisfied. Fifteen patients (15.1%) underwent secondary total knee arthroplasty. and for 2 other patients, arthroplasty was planned. When patients were asked whether they would recommend HTO to others, 74 of them (74.7%) said they would, but 25 patients (25.3%) said they would not. Conclusion: High tibial osteotomy is a very successful surgical treatment. However, patient satisfaction levels may not be as high as expected. In this regard, when assessing the clinical outcomes of HTO, better methods that include the patients’ feedback should be taken into consideration.