VIDEO: Longer follow-up needed for newer TKA alignment methods
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Key takeaways:
- Literature has shown some higher patient satisfaction scores, lower pain and less postoperative swelling and opioid use.
- In vivo weight-bearing kinematic analyses are needed to further study kinematics.
WAILEA, Hawaii — At Orthopedics Today Hawaii, Douglas A. Dennis, MD, spoke about alternative alignment strategies in total knee arthroplasty.
Dennis said the traditional method for alignment was for surgeons to place prosthetic components parallel to the mechanical axis, with the goal of aligning the knee so that the mechanical axis passed through the center of the knee. However, “There’s been a lot of interest in: Is that the way that we should do for everyone? There's been some publications out of Mayo Clinic that showed that knees that were aligned a little outside the desired alignment that we have traditionally tried to achieve did just as well,” Dennis said.
Dennis said the literature has shown some higher patient satisfaction scores in patient-reported outcome measures, lower pain and less postoperative swelling and opioid consumption in patients who had TKA with an alternative alignment strategy.
“I think the gold standard remains aligning total knees along the mechanical axis. All of these newer types of alignment methods certainly need longer follow-up. I think we need in vivo weight-bearing kinematic analyses to really know what the kinematics are as we’re changing the angles in which we put in our implants,” Dennis said.
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Dennis DA. Optimal alignment and ligament balance in TKA. Presented at: Orthopedics Today Hawaii; Jan. 7-11, 2024; Wailea, Hawaii.
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