Planning in Distal Femoral Osteotomy for Valgus Knee

Distal femoral osteotomy (DFO) for valgus knee emphasizes the importance of mechanical alignment in preventing and treating knee osteoarthritis. DFO aims to correct valgus malalignment by shifting the mechanical axis medially, thus sparing the joint and delaying the need for knee arthroplasty. Two main techniques are described: lateral opening wedge DFO (LOW-DFO) and medial closing wedge DFO (MCW-DFO). Proper preoperative planning, mainly made with radiographic assessments, is crucial. The goal is to restore neutral alignment in order to have mechanical axis passing through the knee center, which can involve calculating and correcting the angle of deformity.