title: A FUNCTIONAL AND ROENTGENOGRAPHIC PRELIMINARY COMPARATIVE STUDY USING METAL-BACKED AND ALL-POLYETHYLENE TIBIAL COMPONENTS IN TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe and clinically and radiographically compare patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with all-polyethylene (ALP) and metal-backed (MTB) tibial implants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who underwent TKA between January 1988 and December 2004 were grouped according to the type of implant received: all-polyethylene or metal-backed. Sixty patients came for evaluations, totaling 82 operated knees. Among these, 22 patients had undergone TKA only with ALP (12 unilateral and 10 bilateral cases), 33 patients only with MTB (26 unilateral and 7 bilateral cases) and five patients underwent TKA with ALP in one knee and MTB in the other. The knees were divided thus: group 1, 37 knees with ALP; and group 2, 45 knees with MTB.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no differences in clinical or functional evaluations between the groups. The mean radiolucency in the femur was 0.838 mm for the patients in group 1 and 0.356 mm for the patients in group 2 (p = 0.049). For the tibia, in the AP view, there was a mean value of 2.703 mm for group 1 and 0.733 mm for group 2 (p = 0.000). In the lateral view, the mean values for osteolysis was 0.405 mm for group 1 and 0.200 mm for group 2 (p = 0.074).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were no differences between the groups in the functional and clinical evaluations. However, greater radiolucency was observed in the arthroplasties with ALP, both in the femur in the lateral view and in the tibia in the AP view. Level of evidence IV - case series study.
authors.affiliation: PhD in Medicine. Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine, UFMG. Coordinator of the Orthopedics and Traumatology Service, HC/UFMG.
authors.forename: Marco Antônio Percope
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Andrade
authors.affiliation: Resident Physician in Orthopedics and Traumatologia, Orthopedics and Traumatology Service, HC/UFMG.
authors.forename: Juliano Rodrigues
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Dos Santos
authors.affiliation: Resident Physician in Orthopedics and Traumatologia, Orthopedics and Traumatology Service, HC/UFMG.
authors.forename: Luiz Gustavo Alves
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Gonzaga
authors.affiliation: Orthopedist in the Orthopedics and Traumatology Service, HC/UFMG.
authors.forename: Guilherme Moreira Abreu E
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Silva
keywords: Arthroplasty; Knee; Radiography