A bone wedge is a wedge-shaped piece of bone, generally either removed or inserted during an osteotomy.

Page updated January 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)

laminar spreaders opening the bone during high tibial osteotomy

 

high tibial osteotomy

 

Opening- and closing-wedge osteotomy

An osteotomy is a surgical procedure to cut and re-align a bone. In an 'opening wedge' osteotomy, laminar spreaders open the wedge in the bone which is held in the new position with a plate and screws until new bone fills the gap. In a closing wedge osteotomy, a wedge of bone is removed and the gap closed and plated.

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Peer-reviewed papers

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Synonyms: 
opening-wedge
closing-wedge
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Dr Sheila Strover (Editor)
BSc (Hons), MB BCh, MBA

See biography...