Purpose To investigate the growth of the epiphyseal plate in patients with trochlea dysplasia using a 3D computed tomography (CT)-based reconstruction of the bony structure of the distal femur. The epiphysis plate was divided into a medial part and a lateral part to compare their diferences in patients with trochlear dysplasia. Methods This retrospective study included 50 patients with trochlea dysplasia in the study group and 50 age-and sexmatched patients in the control group. Based on the CT images, MIMICS was used to reconstruct the bony structure of the distal femur. Measurements included the surface area and volume of the growth plate (both medial and lateral), the surface area and capacity of the proximal trochlea, trochlea-physis distance (TPD) (both medial and lateral), and height of the medial and lateral condyle.
ResultsThe surface area of the medial epiphyseal plate (1339.8 ± 202.4 mm 2 vs. 1596.6 ± 171.8 mm 2 ), medial TPD (4.9 ± 2.8 mm vs. 10.6 ± 3.0 mm), height of the medial condyle (1.1 ± 2.5 mm vs. 4.9 ± 1.3 mm), and capacity of the proximal trochlear groove (821.7 ± 230.9 mm 3 vs. 1520.0 ± 498.0 mm 3 ) was signiicantly smaller in the study group than in the control group. A signiicant positive correlation was found among the area of the medial epiphyseal plate, the medial TPD, the height of the medial condyle and the capacity of the proximal trochlear groove (r = 0.502-0.638).
ConclusionThe medial epiphyseal plate was dysplastic in patients with trochlea dysplasia. There is a signiicant positive correlation between the surface area of the medial epiphyseal plate, medial TPD, height of the medial condyle and capacity of the proximal trochlear groove, which can be used to evaluate the developmental stage of the trochlea in clinical practice and to guide targeted treatment of trochlear dysplasia. Level of evidence III.