The Effect of 5 mm Osteochondral Defects on Coronal Plane Knee Stability – A Cadaveric Study

INTRODUCTION: In varus osteoarthritis, patients often present with variable amounts of denuded articular cartilage in the medial compartment. Further, in severe cases, the surgeon will often encounter subchondral bone loss in the distal femur, the medial femoral condyle, and medial tibial plateau, of varying amounts. These osteochondral defects will ultimately lead to varus angulation, and often times, coronal instability. However, the quantitative effect of osteochondral defects on leg alignment and coronal plane stability is poorly understood. This information would be beneficial for templating and intraoperative balancing, and for determining how much bone to resect in the medial compartment in order to balance the knee properly. Thus, the aims of our study were: 1) to quantify the overall laxity in the native knee throughout flexion, and 2) to determine what effects do specific osteochondral defects have on the laxity of the native knee.