HOW FREQUENTLY DO FIVE TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY METHODS CHANGE THE ALIGNMENT OF THE JOINT LINES AND LIMB FROM NORMAL?

摘要

One strategy for aligning the limb and positioning components in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the coronal plane is mechanical alignment, which has the goal of positioning the center of the hip, knee, and ankle on a straight-line by establishing a femoral and tibial joint line at the knee that is perpendicular to the mechanical axis of the femur and tibia respectively. Another strategy is gap balancing, which has the goal of creating equal gaps between the medial and lateral compartments at 0° of extension and 90° of flexion. There is evidence that these strategies can change knee and limb alignment from normal [1]. Radiographs have shown that the joint line at the knee is not always perpendicular to the mechanical axes of the femur and tibia.