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](/sites/default/files/users/user1/laminar_spreaders_0.jpg)
![high tibial osteotomy](/sites/default/files/users/user1/opening_wedge_03.png)
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.
Peer-reviewed papers
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Quote:
"Medial opening wedge HTO [High Tibial Osteotomy] is a safe and efficacious treatment option in patients with a varus deformity. The use of bone substitute wedges eliminates donor site morbidity without compromising the outcome."
Citation: Hooper NM, Schouten R, Hooper GJ. The outcome of bone substitute wedges in medial opening high tibial osteotomy. Open Orthop J. 2013 Sep 6;7:373-7. doi: 10.2174/1874325001307010373. PMID: 24082978; PMCID: PMC3785057.
Synonyms:
opening-wedge
closing-wedge
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