[The etiologies and prevention of patellar instability after un-resurfaced total knee arthroplasty].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the etiologies and prevention of patellar instability after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).


METHODS
From September 1997 to April 2005, 94 patients (105 knees) underwent TKA without patellar resurfacing. All of them were osteoarthritis. Ten patients (14 knees) were performed with Rotation Knee (RK) prostheses. Forty patients were performed with mobile bearing TACK prostheses, and 44 patients with GEMINI prostheses. Subluxation and tilt of patella were evaluated by X-rays before or after operation.


RESULTS
The incidence of patellar instability after operation was 28.6% in patients who had genu valgus deformity, and was 29.5% in whom had patellar instability preoperative. The incidence of patellar instability in RK, TACK, and GEMINI group was 28.6%, 20.9%, and 16.7% respectively after operations. Four patients had obvious femoral or tibial components malrotation.


CONCLUSIONS
The etiologies of patellofemoral instability include pre-operative conditions, prosthetic design, and improper positioning of the prosthetic component. So the suitable component design and skillful operative technique will help the surgeon to avoid this complication.
Lu
Hong-Zhang
HZ
Department of Orthopaedics, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.
Zhu
Tian-Yue
TY
Chai
Wei-Bing
WB
D000368:Aged; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000601:surgery; D010329:Patella; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control