The dimensions of the tibial condyles differ in Nigerians

Abstract

Objective: The tibia is the larger and medially positioned of the two bones of the leg and is involved in knee articulation. Its proximal part consists of the medial and lateral condyles whose superior surface is known as medial and lateral plateau respectively. The knee joint is commonly involved in chronic osteoarthritis which may invariably require knee replacement surgery. This surgical procedure entails excision and replacement of a portion of proximal tibia metaphysis with implants. The available tibia implants consist of excessive number of sizes that may be inappropriate for our population. Thus the need to generate proximal tibia dimensions that may assist in the manufacture of tibia implants appropriate for Nigerians becomes pertinent hence the rationale for the study. Materials and method: One hundred and thirty-one adult tibiae (right:44.3% and left:55.7%) obtained from macerated cadavers were used for the study. On the superior surface of each condyle, the anteroposterior length (APL). transverse length (TL), intercondylar length (ICL) and Medio lateral length (MLL) were measured. Results: The mean APL of the right tibia medial condyle was significantly (p< 0.05) longer than that of its lateral condyle (44.27±4.10 vs 39.49i3.89 mm). For the left tibia, the mean APL of the medial condyle was also significantly longer (43.55±4.38 vs 39.23±4.02 mm). The mean TL for the right tibia medial and lateral condyle was 30.30±3.42 and 30.84±3.67 mm respectively. The mean TL for the left tibia medial and lateral condyle was 30.16±3.16 and 30.59±3.30 mm respectively. The mean ICL of right tibia was I3.03±1.81 and that of the left tibia was 12.85±1.47 mm. The mean MLL of right tibia was 74.17±6.68 while that of the left tibia was 73.60±6.01 mm. The differences in the various parameters between the right and left tibia were insignificant.