The morphology of proximal tibia geometry amongst the Igbos of South East Nigeria and its implication in total knee replacement

• Published in: Nigerian journal of clinical practice Vol. 22; no. 10; pp. 1423 - 1429
• Main Authors: Katchy, A, Agu, A, Ikele, I, Esom, E, Nto, N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.10.2019; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; Blacks; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Knee replacement arthroplasty; Male; Middle Aged; Nigeria; Tibia; Tibia - anatomy & histology; Tibia - surgery; Young Adult; Nigeria; South East Nigeria; total knee replacement; Igbos; Proximal tibia geometry
• ISSN: 1119-3077
• DOI: 10.4103/njcp.njcp_93_19

Background: The morphological parameters of the proximal tibia play a major role in total knee replacement and there are ethnic and gender variations to these parameters. Aim: To evaluate parameters of the proximal tibia geometry amongst the Igbos of South Eastern Nigeria and discuss the clinical implications in total knee replacement. Methods: The proximal tibia parameters of 558 adult tibiae bones, 300 right-sided and 258 left-sided, collected from the osteological unit of the department of anatomy University of Nigeria Enugu campus were measured using a Venier calipers. Results: The values of the determined parameters are as follows: anterior posterior dimension (APD): 5.50 cm, medial lateral dimension (MLD):7.53 ± 5.56 cm, proximal length (PL): 7.32 ± 0.67 cm, proximal width (PW) CM: 4.10 ± 0.30 cm, medial tibia posterior slope (MTPS):11.36 ± 4.15° and lateral tibia posterior slope (LTPS):5.65 ± 2.72°. The correlation test between these parameters of the proximal tibia shows a strong significant correlation between LPTS and MPTS (r =0.814, P < .001). The comparison of the means of the MPTS of both sides using independent samples t test shows a mean difference that is not significant (p =0.628). A comparison of the values with other populations shows significant mean difference for MLD with that of Chinese and American populations (p < .05). The mean difference between the APD of this study and the Chinese is significant (p =0.007). A comparison of MPTS and LPTS for Malaysian, Chinese, and white Americans shows a significance difference for all the three populations (p <.05). Conclusion: These determined values should be taken into consideration during tibia surface coverage in total knee replacement amongst the Igbo population.