Anthropometric Measurements of Knee Joints in the Hispanic Population

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) systems provide a set of incrementally sized tibial and femoral components intended to accommodate most knee parameters. However, the most commonly used systems in the United States were developed using data from Caucasian patients which might not lead to the best fit in non-Caucasians. Therefore, we wanted to evaluate whether these TKA systems proportionally match femoral and tibial measurements in Hispanics.

All lower extremity magnetic resonance imaging performed at our institution between January 2007 and October 2015 were screened. A total of 500 nonarthritic knees from the same number of Hispanic patients were included in this retrospective descriptive radiographic study. Intraoperative osseous TKA resections were simulated on magnetic resonance imaging. Linear regression analyses were used to contrast the mediolateral (ML) width/anteroposterior (AP) length of simulated resected femoral condyle and tibia with the ML/AP dimensions of components offered by 4 current TKA systems.

Simulated resected male femurs tended to be wider than most TKA system components for a given AP size, probably leading to component ML underhang. Altogether, systems studied accommodated most AP and ML measurements of female condyles. However, we identified subsets of Hispanic female patients with certain AP lengths and/or ML widths that particular knee systems could not accommodate. Resected male and female tibias tended to be slightly narrower than all TKA systems for a given AP size.

The results of our study provide valuable data concerning the unique morphology of the Hispanic knee. These data can assist surgeons in the selection of the most suitable TKA systems for these patients.