Reply to Letter to the Editor Referring to Article “Retorno ao Esporte após Osteotomia Tibial Alta com Método de Cunha de Abertura” – Nicolini AP, Christiano ES, Abdalla RJ, Cohen M, Carvalho RT

Background Knee osteotomies are proven treatment options, especially in younger patients with unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis, for certain cases of chronic knee instability, or as concomitant treatment for meniscal repair or transplantation surgery. Presumably, these patients wish to stay active. Data on whether these patients return to sport (RTS) activities and return to work (RTW) are scarce. Objectives Our aim was to systematically review (1) the extent to which patients can RTS and RTW after knee osteotomy and (2) the time to RTS and RTW. Methods We systematically searched the MEDLINE and Embase databases. Two authors screened and extracted data, including patient demographics, surgical technique, pre- and postoperative sports and work activities, and confounding factors. Two authors assessed methodological quality. Data on pre- and postoperative participation in sports and work were pooled. Results We included 26 studies, involving 1321 patients (69% male). Mean age varied between 27 and 62 years, and mean follow-up was 4.8 years. The overall risk of bias was low in seven studies, moderate in ten studies, and high in nine studies. RTS was reported in 18 studies and mean RTS was 85%. Reported RTS in studies with a low risk of bias was 82%. No studies reported time to RTS. RTW was reported in 14 studies; mean RTW was 85%. Reported RTW in studies with a low risk of bias was 80%. Time to RTW varied from 10 to 22 weeks. Lastly, only 15 studies adjusted for confounders. Conclusion Eight out of ten patients returned to sport and work after knee osteotomy. No data were available on time to RTS. A trend toward performing lower-impact sports was observed. Time to RTW varied from 10 to 22 weeks, and almost all patients returned to the same or a higher workload. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0726-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

OBJETIVO: Realizar um levantamento retrospectivo das complicações mais frequentes da osteotomia tibial alta (OTA) em cunha de abertura medial. Esse procedimento vem a cada vez ganhando mais espaço no tratamento da artrose do joelho como uma das opções para pacientes jovens e ativos. Apesar dos resultados satisfatórios e seus benefícios, não é procedimento isento de complicações. MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados, retrospectivamente, todos os pacientes submetidos à OTA supratuberositária medial de cunha de abertura e fixados com placa do tipo Puddu, realizadas no período de 1 de outubro de 1987 a 30 de outubro de 2008, no Hospital e Maternidade Celso Pierro da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (PUC-Campinas) e no Instituto Wilson Mello em Campinas. Foram excluídos pacientes com menos de 12 meses de seguimento, com prontuários incompletos, e os que tinham osteotomias bilaterais. RESULTADOS: Dos 67 casos avaliados, 55 eram do sexo masculino e 12 do feminino, com média de idade de 49,5 anos. O tamanho médio da cunha foi de 10,15mm e as complicações mais frequentes foram dor moderada e grave (13,04%), seguida de rigidez (6,52%), quebra de material (4,4%), fratura da cortical lateral intraoperatória (4,4%) e infecção (4,4%). CONCLUSÃO: Foi observado aumento de probabilidade de complicações quando há retardo na consolidação da osteotomia (p < 0,05). Foi possível concluir que as complicações da osteotomia de cunha medial são mais frequentes quando há associação de retardo de consolidação.