Purpose: The Vitrea 2 imaging software (Vital Images Inc, Minnetonka, MN) was used for the volume analysis of the proximal tibial metaphysis.
Materials and methods: Eighteen computed tomography scans of the proximal tibia were processed through the software, and 3-dimensional imaging of the proximal tibia was reconstructed.
Results: The volume and area of the proximal tibia that were generated resulted in a mean area of 127 cm(2) and a mean volume of 77.2 cm(2).
Conclusion: This study supports the use of the proximal tibial metaphysis as a source of low to moderate volume of autologous bone. When compared with the accepted average volume of 25 cm(2), the computed results showed that there could be up to 3 times the amount of bone available in the proximal tibial metaphysis. The reported volume of bone harvested from previous studies was based on need and not the total amount available; subsequently, the results showed the possibility of a larger resource of bone, which provides the surgeon with the volumetrical limits of the proximal tibia metaphysis.