This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Stripped knee capsule does not increase range of motion in total knee arthroplasty

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

Posterior capsule stripping increases flexion following total knee arthroplasty but there are no significant differences in subsequent postoperative follow-up visits, according to a recent presentation at the British Orthopaedic Association and the Irish Orthopaedic Association Combined Meeting 2011.

“We do not recommend routing stripping of the posterior knee capsule in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty,” Brian Hanratty, MCRS, said in his presentation. “There’s a transient increase in flexion, but this does not persist postoperatively.”

There was a significant gain in flexion after wound closure in the stripped capsule group but subsequent follow-up examinations revealed no significant difference in range of motion (ROM). At 3 months postoperatively, the extension and flexion values for the stripped capsule group had significantly reduced, while the control had a significantly higher ROM 3 months postoperatively, according to the abstract.

Hanratty and his team split 128 patients (49 male, 79 female) into two groups: one group of 62 patients had their posterior knee capsules stripped, while a second group of 66 patients acted as a control. The single surgeon series measured the postoperative ROM after surgery, at 3 month follow-up and at 1-year follow-up.

Researchers used the same implant, technique and postoperative rehabilitation for all patients. All patients were close in age and had similar limb alignment, Hanratty said.

Reference:

• Hanratty B, Thompson N, Bennett D, et al. Does postular capsular stripping improve range of motion in knee arthroplasty patients? A randomised controlled trial presenting one year outcomes. Presented at the British Orthopaedic Association and the Irish Orthopaedic Association Combined Meeting 2011. Sept. 13-19. Dublin.
• Disclosure: Hanratty has no relevant financial disclosures.

Follow OrthoSuperSite.com on Twitter