Osteonecrosis of the femoral condyles: A retrospective study of 34 cases

The authors report 34 cases of osteonecrosis of the femoral condyles (28 of the medial condyle and 6 of the lateral condyle). This disorder particularly affects elderly women; the quest for an etiology is often negative, apart from a genu varum noted in half the cases. Conventional radiography provided the diagnosis in three-quarters of the cases; in the other cases MRI was the examination of choice, except in multifocal forms where radionuclide bone scanning remains very useful. The course was spontaneously favorable in 5 cases. Surgery has been increasingly used in recent years: valgus osteotomy in 5 cases, a unicompartmental prosthesis in 11 cases, and total knee replacement in 3 cases.