MONDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Neither patellar resurfacing nor the design of the prosthetic affects the clinical outcome of total knee arthroplasty, according to a study published in the July 20 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
George Pavlou, M.R.C.S., from the Robert Jones Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, U.K., and colleagues reviewed available literature to compare the clinical outcomes of total knee arthroplasty with and without patellar resurfacing in 7,075 patients (3,463 in the resurfacing group and 3,612 in the non-resurfacing group), and determine any association between outcomes and prosthetic design. Reoperation rates, incidence of anterior knee pain, and functional scores were the outcome measures for patellar resurfacing versus non-resurfacing. The same three outcome measures were used to compare patella-friendly and non-patella-friendly total knee arthroplasty designs.
The investigators identified no significant differences between the resurfacing and non-resurfacing groups for the incidence of anterior knee pain. The non-resurfacing group was found to have a higher rate of reoperations compared to the resurfacing group. After comparing patella-friendly and non-patella-friendly total knee arthroplasty designs, no differences were found in the incidence of reoperations.
"No evidence was found to suggest that either patellar resurfacing or the prosthetic design affects the clinical outcome of a total knee arthroplasty. The higher incidence of reoperations in the non-resurfacing group may be attributed to the fact that secondary patellar resurfacing adds a surgical option for the treatment of anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty, thus artificially increasing the rate of reoperations in the non-resurfacing group," the authors write.
Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)