G. Lovasz et al., EFFECTS OF VALGUS TIBIAL ANGULATION ON CARTILAGE DEGENERATION IN THE RABBIT KNEE, Journal of orthopaedic research, 13(6), 1995, pp. 846-853
Thirteen adult female rabbits underwent unilateral osteotomy of the pr
oximal tibia. In nine animals. 30 degrees of valgus angulation was cre
ated; in four animals, osteotomy without angulation was performed. Aft
er a 12-week survival period, the knee joints were processed for histo
logy by staining with hematoxylin and eosin and safranin O. Additional
ly, the chondroitin sulphate epitopes 3-B-3(-) and 7-D-4 were evaluate
d immunohistochemically as markers of osteoarthritis. Changes of the a
rticular surface of the tibis were visualized by scanning electron mic
roscopy. Light microscopic evaluation by the Mankin et al. scoring sys
tem revealed mild or moderate damage of the cartilage in the lateral c
ompartment of angulated extremities when compared with the control sid
e. Immunohistology with the monoclonal 3-B-3 and 7-D-4 antibodies show
ed no increased expression of these epitopes in the lateral compartmen
ts of the knee. Scanning electron microscopic evaluation of the tibial
surfaces revealed slight surface damage localized to the central, wei
ght-bearing portion of the lateral tibial plateau of angulated extremi
ties. Angulation of 30 degrees led to only mild degenerative changes o
f the cartilage. These results indicate that, in the short term, carti
lage has considerable capacity to withstand the effects caused by seve
re angulation of the limb.