Annual Trends of High Tibial Osteotomy: Analysis of an Official Registry in Italy

Background and Objectives: Knee osteoarthritis is a serious burden for modern countries. Timing of surgery and treatment choice are still a matter of controversy in the orthopedic literature. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the incidence and hospitalization trends of high tibial osteotomy in Italy from 2001 to 2016. Materials and Methods: Data are sourced from the National Hospital Discharge Reports (SDO) of the Italian Ministry of Health between 2001 and 2016. Results: A total of 34,402 high tibial osteotomies were performed over the study period in Italy. The cumulative incidence was 3.6 cases per 100,000 residents. The age classes 50–54, 55–59 showed the higher number of procedures. In pediatric patients (0–19 years), high tibial osteotomies are also largely performed. The majority of patients having surgery were men with a M/F ratio of 1.5. The mean age of patients was 44.2 ± 19.2 years. Males were significantly younger than females (43.3 ± 20.7 vs. 45.6 ± 17.7). The average length of hospitalization was 6.1 ± 7.3 days. Over the course of the analysis, a declining trend in hospital stay length was seen. The main primary diagnosis codes were “Varus knee” (736.42 ICD-9-CM code, 33.9%), “Osteoarthrosis, localized, primary, leg region” (715.16 ICD-9-CM code, 9.5%). Conclusions: Over the study period, high tibial osteotomies in Italy almost halved. Varus deformity and knee osteoarthritis are the leading causes requiring high tibial osteotomy. Except for the pediatric setting, results showed that from the 20–24 age class to the 50–54 age class, there was an increasing request for knee osteotomy, whereas in those aged >60 years, the incidence progressively decreased. The evident decline in HTO performed over the years in Italy seems to reflect a minor role for knee osteotomy in the management of knee OA, as it seems to be primarily reserved for younger male patients.