title: The influence of posterior tibial slope changes on joint gap and range of motion in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The effect of posterior slope on joint gap in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) has yet to be quantified. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of the tibial slope on the joint component gap and postoperative range of motion in UKA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty consecutive patients were prospectively enrolled. The correlation between the tibial slope changes and the component gap, the component gap difference between flexion angles, the postoperative extension or flexion angles was examined. The correlation of joint looseness with tibial slope changes and postoperative extension angle was also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Increased tibial slope positively correlated with the differences between the component gap at 90° and 10°, 120° and 10°, or 135° and 10° knee flexion angle. Although tibial slope change did not affect postoperative flexion angle, increased tibial slope reduced postoperative extension angle. Moreover, increased tibial slope resulted in decreased joint looseness during 10° of knee flexion and decreased joint looseness during 10° of knee flexion resulted in reduced postoperative extension angle.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased tibial slope resulted in tight component gap at knee extension compared with that at knee flexion. Furthermore, tight component gap at extension lead to decreased postoperative extension angle. These results indicate that an individual anatomical tibial slope should be considered when tibial sagittal osteotomy was performed and increasing tibial slope should be avoided to achieve full extension angle after UKA.
  
  
  METHODS
  II.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. Electronic address: matsun@m4.dion.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Steel Memorial Hirohata Hospital, Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Muratsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe Kaisei Hospital, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazunari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takehiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosaka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010020:Osteonecrosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D013977:Tibia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Gap; Tensor; Tibial slope; Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty