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Abstract

Varus deformity, the most commonly encountered deformity in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA), is associated with a limb alignment (hip-knee-ankle angle) of less than 180° and varying degrees of contracture of medial soft-tissue structures, laxity of the lateral soft-tissue structures, flexion deformity and medial bone erosion at the knee joint. Medial osteophytes cause tethering and functional shortening of the medial soft-tissue structures in a varus deformity; posterior osteophytes exert the same effect on the posterior capsule leading to flexion contracture and obstruction to deep flexion. There may also be associated lengthening and attenuation of the lateral soft-tissue structures especially in severe varus deformities.

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Mullaji, A.B., Shetty, G.M. (2014). Varus Deformity. In: Deformity Correction in Total Knee Arthroplasty. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0566-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0566-9_3

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