The Impact of an Intact Infrapatellar Fat Pad on Outcomes after Total Knee Arthroplasty

摘要

Background. The infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) is currently resected in approximately 88% of Total Knee Arthroplasties (TKAs). We hypothesised that an intact IPFP would improve outcomes after TKA.Methods. Patients with an intact IPFP participated in this cross-sectional study by completing two surveys, at 6 and 12 months after TKA. Both surveys included questions regarding kneeling, with the Oxford Knee Score also included at 12 months.Results. Sixty patients participated in this study. At 6 and 12 months, a similar number of patients were able to kneel, 40 (66.7%) and 43 (71.7%), respectively. Fifteen (25.0%) patients were unable to kneel due to knee pain at 6 months; of these, nine (15%) were unable to kneel at 12 months. Moreover, at 12 months, 90.0% of the patients reported minimal or no knee pain. There was no correlation between the inability to kneel and knee pain (p=0.13). There was a significant correlation between the inability to kneel and reduced overall standardised knee function scores (p=0.02).Conclusions. This was the first study to demonstrate improved kneeling and descending of stairs after TKA with IPFP preservation. These results in the context of current literature show that IPFP preservation reduces the incidence of knee pain 12 months after TKA.