TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY WITH POSTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RETENTION IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE VARUS DEFORMITY

Objective; TO observe the clinical outcome of total knee arthroplasty (TKA ) with posterior cruciate ligament (PCL ) retention in patients with severe varus deformity. Methods We reviewed the clinical treatment results of primary TKA in patients with severe varus deformity (≥20°) between January 1990 and July 1995. All patients, suffered from ostecoarthritis, were performed on a single surgeon using a minimally constrained "Hybrid" Miller-Galante knees (MG-I). Cliniccal evaluation were assessed by using the Knee Society clinical rating system. The Student’s t test was used to analyse the data. Results At a mean follow-up of 6 years (4-9years), 56 knees in 38 patients were available for review. 5 patients (7 knees) lost follow-up and 3 patients (4 knees) died. The average knee score improved from 33 points before operation to 91 points in the latest follow-up with excellent results in 84% of all patients. The Knee Society functional score improved from 39 to 76 points. The improvements were statistically significant (P < 0. 01 ). A functionally acceptable range of motion (ROM) of more than 90° were achieved in 86% of all patients. Most of cases (50/56 ) had postoperative alignment inside the normal range of 5° to 7° valgus. The other 6 cases had postoperative residual deformity of 5°-10°varus. Total revision rate was 21 % (12 /56 ), the average revision time was 5. 5 years after surgery. Other complications included patellar subluxation in 1 case, anterior pain of knee in 4 cases, and superficial cellulitis in 1 case. No early or late infection, aseptic loosening or anterioposterior instability occurred in this series. Conclusion Severs varus deformity can he successfully corrected at the time of primary TKA by using PCL-retention prosthesis. There were more problems from postoperative medial-lateral instability of knee which contributed significantly to early failure after an average of 6. 0 years.

Alignment of the hindfoot following total knee arthroplasty: A systematic review

BACKGROUND There appears to be a close relationship between deformities at the knee joint and at the hindfoot in patients with knee osteoarthritis(OA).Despite this intrinsic link,there is a dearth of studies investigating alterations in hindfoot alignment following total knee arthroplasty(TKA)in patients with knee OA.AIM To evaluate changes in alignment of the hindfoot following TKA,foot and ankle clinical outcomes in terms of subjective clinical scoring tools following surgical intervention,and to analyse the level of evidence(LOE)and quality of evidence(QOE)of the included studies.METHODS MEDLINE,EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases were systematically reviewed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.Studies reporting changes in the postoperative alignment of the hindfoot following TKA were included.The level and QOE were recorded and assessed.RESULTS Eleven studies with a total of 1142 patients(1358 knees)met the inclusion/exclusion criteria.Six studies were of LOE II and 5 studies were of LOE III.Patients with preoperative varus knee deformity and valgus hindfoot deformity demonstrated improvement in hindfoot alignment post TKA.Patients with preoperative varus knee deformity and varus hindfoot deformity demonstrated no improvement in hindfoot alignment following TKA.Twelve different radiographic parameters were used to measure the alignment of the hindfoot across the included studies,with the tibio-calcaneal angle most frequently utilised(27.3%).CONCLUSION This systematic review demonstrated that the hindfoot may display compensatory changes in alignment following TKA in patients with knee OA.However,the marked heterogeneity between the included studies and poor QOE limits any meaningful cross sectional comparisons between studies.Further,well designed studies are necessary to determine the changes and outcomes of hindfoot alignment following TKA.