Introduction: Medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by varus deformity. A medial open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (MOWHTO), frequently invoked in the treatment of this deformity, affects the knee as well as the ankle joints. This study aims to evaluate the radiological and clinical effects of a MOWHTO on the ankle joint. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted with data from 110 patients (mean age: 52 years; 74.5% female) who underwent a MOWHTO between 2020 and 2023. Radiographic assessments were conducted both preoperatively and one year after surgery using full-length weight-bearing radiographs. The measurements included several alignment parameters such as the hip–knee–ankle angle (HKA), medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA), joint line convergence angle (JLCA), lateral distal tibial angle (LDTA), and talar tilt. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Lysholm knee score and the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle score. Results: While changes in the LDTA demonstrated a small effect size (d = 0.225), moderate-to-large effect sizes were observed in key alignment parameters (MPTA (d = 0.838), the JLCA (d = 0.798), and talar tilt (d = 0.752)), all of which showed statistically significant differences indicative of a correction in the joint alignment of potential clinical significance. Median Lysholm and AOFAS scores at one year were 90 and 100, respectively, indicating favorable clinical outcomes. No significant difference in outcomes was observed based on the amount of correction. Conclusions: An MOWHTO not only restores knee alignment but also significantly improves ankle alignment in the coronal plane. These findings suggest that an MOWHTO is associated with the restoration of knee alignment and with improvements in ankle alignment in the coronal plane.

Joint Diseases and Related Surgery (JDRS), the official journal of the Turkish Joint Diseases Foundation, is an international, peer-reviewed, immediate open access journal. All published articles in JDRS has been free for everyone, without embargo, since 1990.

Aims: This study was planned to compare the clinical outcomes of plate and cannulated screw fixation methods for the posterior malleolus (PM) component in trimalleolar ankle fractures and to evaluate the effect of the time from trauma to surgery and the presence of dislocation on postoperative function. Methods: This retrospective study included 44 patients who underwent surgical treatment with PM fixation for trimalleolar fractures between 2019 and 2023. Patients were grouped by fixation method: screw (n=19) and plate (n=25), with all surgeries performed via a posterolateral approach. Functional outcomes were assessed using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score at 6, 12, and 24 months. The presence of ankle dislocation and time from trauma to surgery (24 hours) were recorded. Results: AOFAS scores showed no significant difference between plate and screw groups at any time point (p>0.05). However, patients with dislocation had significantly lower scores at all follow-ups (p