This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Navigated TKA may be effective for patients with extra-articular deformity
Catani F. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2011. doi: 10.1007/s00167-011-1602-1.
The use of navigation systems for achieving accurate bone cuts and proper restoration of the mechanical axis during total knee arthroplasty is safe and effective in intra-articular resection cases of patients who display extra-articular deformity, according to Italian researchers.
The team performed consecutive total knee arthroplasties in 20 patients who demonstrated knee arthritis due to extra-articular deformity. The patients had a mean age of 52 years and a mean preoperative hip-knee-ankle angle of 10.4° as assessed with the Moreland method, the authors noted.
“In all cases, an image-free knee navigation system was used because of the severe deformity or the presence of retained hardware that prevented the use of the intramedullary rod,” they wrote.
Mean follow-up for the study was 3.1 years, according to the abstract.
Patients displayed a mean hip-knee-ankle of 0.8° in varus 1 month postoperatively, the authors reported. Knee Society Scores improved from a preoperative average of 48 to a postoperative average of 91 at final follow-up, they added. Ninety percent of patients reported good or excellent results. Range of motion, which had averaged 7° to 74° preoperatively, improved to a range of 0° to 94° postoperatively.