Coxitis Knee with Severe Leg Length Discrepancy

It is known that severe osteoarthritis of the hip joint develops onto secondary osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Twenty patients (leg length discrepancy more than 50 mm) were studied for etiology, morphology, and alignment of the lower extremity. The mean age was 61.3 years (from 44 to 77 years). The mean leg length discrepancy was 60.7 mm (from 50 to 92 mm). The ipsilateral knee joint (lower extremity of short side) was in the valgus position in 12 patients and opposite knee joint (lower extremity of long side) in the varus position in 10 patients. The type of malalignment was windswept deformity in 12 patients. Windswept deformity is a bilateral condition in which one knee exists in valgus demormity, while the other shows varus deformity. There is a tendency for development of lateral OA of the knee joint in the short side and medial OA of the knee joint in the long side with severe leg length descrepancy. The rate was 60%.