title: The effect of patellar thickness changes on patellar tilt in total knee arthroplasty.
abstract: We hypothesized that changes in patellar thickness following patellar resurfacing affect patellar tilt in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. The study enrolled 272 TKAs and categorized them into four groups according to change in patellar thickness: (A) thinner by 1 mm or more, (B) equal or thinner by less than 1 mm, (C) thicker by 1 mm or less, and (D) thicker by more than 1 mm. Patellar tilt angle was measured postoperatively using Merchant radiography. There were no significant differences in postoperative patellar tilt among groups A, B, and C (n.s). However, the postoperative patellar tilting angle of group D was significantly higher than that of all other groups (P < 0.05). Postoperative patellar tilt increased when the postoperative patella was >1 mm thicker than the preoperative patella.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University College of Medicine, 388-1 Poongnap-Dong, Songpa-Gu, Seoul 138-736, Korea. wscho@amc.seoul.kr
authors.forename: Yoon-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Youm
authors.forename: Woo-Shin
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jae-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Byung-Kwan
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007720:Knee Prosthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D010027:Osteotomy / Q000379:methods*; D010329:Patella / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery*