Improved knee flexion following high-flexion total knee arthroplasty.
BACKGROUND
The application of new techniques and materials in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) continue to be a primary focus in orthopedic surgery. The primary aim of the present study is to evaluate post TKA total range of motion (ROM) among a group of patients who received a gender specific high-flexion design modification implant compared to a control group of patients who received non-gender specific implants.


RESULTS
The control group was comprised of 39 TKAs that were recruited pre-operatively and received the non-gender specific implant while the study group consisted of 39 TKAs who received gender specific implants. The study group yielded an improvement in mean post-operative ROM of 21° at 12 months, whereas the mean improvement in ROM among the control group was 11°. Thus, the study group had a 10° increased ROM improvement (91%) over the control group (p = 0.00060). In addition, 100% of the subjects with gender specific high-flexion implants achieved greater or equal ROM post-operatively compared to 82% for the control cohort. Lastly, women who exhibited greater pre-operative ROM and lower body mass index (BMI) were found to benefit the most with the gender specific prosthesis.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrates that among subjects with a normal BMI, the gender specific high-flexion knee implant is associated with increased ROM as compared to the non-gender specific non-high-flexion implant designs.
Southwest Orthopedic Group, LLP, 6560 Fannin Street, Suite 1016, Houston, TX 77030, USA. dlionberger@mysurgeon.com
David R
DR
Lionberger
Mitchell D
MD
Eggers
Kathryn E
KE
Brewer
Li
L
Fang
D000368:Aged; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome