A review of through-knee amputation.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Reconstructive Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Through-knee amputation (TKA) encompasses various surgical techniques, complicating the assessment of its clinical and functional benefits.
• Standardized evaluation of TKA outcomes is challenging due to the heterogeneity of surgical approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the incidence of TKA relative to other major lower limb amputations in England over ten years.
• To elucidate the theoretical underpinnings of TKA surgical methods and their impact on patient outcomes.
• To establish a foundation for future research and discourse on TKA and its associated surgical results.

Main Methods:

• Utilized National Health Service Hospital Episodes Statistics for amputation data in England.
• Conducted systematic literature searches of EMBASE and MEDLINE for TKA surgical techniques.

Main Results:

• TKAs constituted 4.6% of major lower limb amputations in England in the last decade.
• Analysis identified three primary TKA techniques: classical, Mazet, and Gritti-Stokes.
• The classical approach preserves the femur and patella; Mazet reshapes femoral condyles; Gritti-Stokes involves femoral division and patellar attachment.

Conclusions:

• TKA persists as a surgical procedure, characterized by three main techniques.
• A significant limitation in current literature is the lack of differentiation between TKA approaches, impeding comparative analysis.
• Further research is essential to compare distinct TKA methods and other amputation levels for improved clinical understanding.