Volume Analysis of the Proximal Tibial Metaphysis

Purpose

The Vitrea 2 imaging software (Vital Images Inc, Minnetonka, MN) was used for the volume analysis of the proximal tibial metaphysis.

Materials and Methods

Eighteen computed tomography scans of the proximal tibia were processed through the software, and 3-dimensional imaging of the proximal tibia was reconstructed.

Results

The volume and area of the proximal tibia that were generated resulted in a mean area of 127 cm² and a mean volume of 77.2 cm².

Conclusion

This study supports the use of the proximal tibial metaphysis as a source of low to moderate volume of autologous bone. When compared with the accepted average volume of 25 cm², the computed results showed that there could be up to 3 times the amount of bone available in the proximal tibial metaphysis. The reported volume of bone harvested from previous studies was based on need and not the total amount available; subsequently, the results showed the possibility of a larger resource of bone, which provides the surgeon with the volumetrical limits of the proximal tibia metaphysis.