What is a fracture of the medial tribal plateau of the knee?
The tibial plateau is the top of the shin bone (tibia) and is where the thigh bone (femur) articulates to form the knee. This is a critical part of the joint and injuries to the plateau almost always require surgery to correct. They often lead to arthritis (even when surgically repaired) because the cartilage that sits on the tibial plateau can have its blood supply disrupted and degenerate. Failure to get proper orthopaedic evaluation and surgery (if indicated) with this type of injury can result in significant disability. These injuries are more common in high velocity impact (auto accident) type of injuries.
