Swelling assessment after total knee arthroplasty

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a frequent elective surgery.
• Post-operative knee swelling (effusion and edema) impacts patient recovery.
• Accurate methods to quantify swelling are needed for monitoring TKA progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review clinically applicable measurement techniques for knee swelling after TKA.
• To identify advancements in quantifying post-operative knee swelling.

Main Methods:

• A PubMed literature search was conducted for relevant English-language, full-text articles.
• Keywords included terms related to knee swelling and total knee replacement.
• Methods for measuring knee swelling post-TKA were systematically reviewed.

Main Results:

• Bioimpedance spectroscopy and handheld 3D scanning provide quick and precise knee swelling quantification.
• These advanced technologies overcome limitations of traditional circumferential and volumetric measurements.
• Handheld 3D scanning may also estimate changes in effusion and muscular knee volume.
• Magnetic resonance imaging is accurate for effusion but is time and resource-intensive.

Conclusions:

• Bioimpedance spectroscopy and 3D scanning represent promising future tools for clinical assessment of knee swelling post-TKA.