Mechanical strength of a new plate compared to six previously tested opening wedge high tibial osteotomy implants

Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics

Table 1 Different HTO implants considered in the study (Groups I, II and III)

Groups	Material	Design/fixation principle
TomoFix std (Group I)	Titanium	Long T-shaped internal fixator with uniaxial angle stable locking screws. The five proximal locking screws are bicortical and the three distal are monocortical
PEEKPower (Group II)	Carbon-fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK)	T-shaped internal fixator, shorter than the TomoFix plate, with angle stable multidirectional screws. The proximal screws are monocortical and fixed in the cancellous bone and the distal screws are bicortical.
iBalance (Group III)	Non-absorbable PEEK	Spacer inserted in the osteotomy wedge attached to the tibia by PEEK screws. The distal screws are fixed in the cancellous bone and the distal in the cancellous bone until the cortical opposite bone

The implants have different shapes. All the implants are centred onto the medial surface of the tibia head. The iBalance implant is inserted centrally into the medial side of the tibia head