Brief report: total knee arthroplasty performed with patient-specific, pre-operative CT-guided navigation

The clinical success and long-term outcomes of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are dependent not only on the biomaterials within the prosthetic implant, but also on the surgeon's ability to correctly position the implants onto the bone. Intra-operative computer navigation and robotic surgery have emerged as options to increase the accuracy of implant placement and enhance the outcomes of TKA, with mixed clinical results to date. Pre-operative CT-guided, patient-specific navigation is a unique method for planning TKA surgery to achieving consistent implant positioning, especially for patients with retained surgical hardware or unusual bony anatomy. This technology has been used in Rhode Island in a limited series of patients to assess the utility of the technique and represents an interesting advance for both orthopaedic surgeons and their patients.