Effects of Lower Limb Alignment and Tibial Component Inclination on the Biomechanics of Lateral Compartment in Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty

Background： Lateral compartmental osteoarthritis （LCOA）, a major complication after medial mobile-bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty （UKA）, is highly associated with the increased stress of the lateral compartment. This study aimed to analyze the effects on the stress and load distribution of the lateral compartment induced by lower limb alignment and coronal inclination of the tibial component in UKA through a finite element analysis. Methods： Eight three-dimensional models were constructed based on a validated model for analyzing the biomechanical effects of implantation parameters on the lateral compartment after medial Oxford UKA： postoperative lower limb alignment of 3° valgus, neutral and 3° varus, and the inclination of tibial components placed in 4°, 2° valgus, square, and 2° and 4° varus. The contact stress of femoral and tibial cartilage and load distribution were calculated for all models. Results： In the 3° valgus lower limb alignment model, the contact stress of femoral （3.38 MPa） and tibial （3.50 MPa） cartilage as well as load percentage （45.78%） was highest compared to any other model, and was increased by 36.75%, 47.70%, and 27.63%, respectively when compared to 3° varus. In the condition of a neutral position, the outcome was comparable for the different tibial tray inclination models. The inclination did not greatly affect the lateral compartmental stress and load distribution. Conclusions： This study suggested that slightly varus （undercorrection） lower limb alignment might be a way to prevent LCOAin medial mobile-bearing UKA. However, the inclination （4° varus to 4° valgus） of the tibial component in the coronal plane would not be a risk factor for LCOA in neutral position.

Postoperative Mechanical Axis Alignment and Components Position after Conventional and Patient-Specific Total Knee Arthroplasty

Introduction: Accurate postoperative alignment and implant positioning are determinant factors for successful total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patient-specific template (PST) is a technique that uses computer technology for the planning, deigning and production of cutting guides. This study aims to compare PST to conventional technique in terms of mechanical axis alignment and component positioning. Patients and method: 109 TKA were performed for 78 patients in 2 groups. Group A included 69 conventional TKA in 55 patients and Group B included 40 patient-specific TKA in 23 patient. Postoperative long-film X-rays were done for all patients to observe the mechanical axis, anatomical axis, lateral distal femoral mechanical angle and medial proximal tibial angle. Results: No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups regarding alignment or component positioning. Conclusion: Both techniques have shown similar results in restoring the mechanical axis and alignment after TKA. However, PST had the advantages of reduced blood loss and shorter operative time.