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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Published on: July 5, 2011
Does Postoperative Mechanical Axis Alignment Have an Effect on Clinical Outcome of Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty? A
Mikhail Salzmann1, Peter Fennema2, Roland Becker1
1Hochschulklinikum der MHB Theodor Fontane, Städtisches Klinikum Brandenburg GmbH, Center of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Hochstraße 29, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany.
Background:
There is an ongoing debate whether patients with constitutional varus should be restored to neutral mechanical alignment following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
Objective:
The aim of this retrospective cohort study is to determine whether mild unintentional postoperative varus alignment (3°-6°) influences TKA outcome in patients with and without preoperative varus alignment due to medial osteoarthritis of the knee.
Methods:
We analyzed 172 consecutive TKA cases between April 2011 and May 2014. Patients were divided into four groups based on their preoperative and postoperative hip-knee-ankle angles (HKA): preoperative varus ≤ 3° with postoperative varus position ≤ 3° (Group 1, n = 47); preoperative varus >3° with postoperative varus ≤ 3° (Group 2, n = 104); preoperative varus ≤ 3° with postoperative varus malalignment > 3° (Group 3, n = 3); and preoperative varus > 3° with postoperative varus malalignment > 3° (Group 4, n = 18). Patients were followed up until 2 years postoperatively.
Results:
Knee Society Score and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index scores for all study groups increased following TKA, with no postoperative differences at any time point. Group 4 performed significantly better on the Forgotten Joint Score than Group 2 (p = 0.019). Group 4 performed significantly better on the High Flexion Knee Score than Group 2 (p = 0.004) and Group 1 (p = 0.019). All other between-group differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
Residual postoperative varus alignment of the lower limb does not appear to adversely affect clinical outcome following TKA for varus-type osteoarthritis.
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