Patellar Component Design Does Not Impact Clinical Outcomes in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Clinical Outcomes Research

Background:

• Patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) utilizes round or oval implants.
• The impact of patellar component geometry on clinical outcomes remains unclear.
• This study investigates if implant shape influences TKA success.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if round or oval patellar implant designs lead to superior clinical outcomes in total knee arthroplasty.
• To compare patient-reported outcome measures and revision rates between round and oval patellar components.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 400 primary TKAs performed between 2016-2020.
• Analysis of demographic data, radiographic measurements, surgical details, and patient-reported outcomes.
• Comparison of outcomes between cohorts using independent samples t-test and chi-square tests.

Main Results:

• Postoperative patellar tilt differed significantly between round and oval implant groups.
• No significant difference in revision rates (16 total revisions) or reasons for revision (infection, loosening) was observed.
• Higher Veterans RAND 12 Physical Component Score at 3 months for the round cohort, with no difference at 1 year.

Conclusions:

• Despite differences in radiographic patellar tilt, both round and oval patellar implant designs demonstrate clinical equivalence in TKA.
• Current findings suggest that patellar component geometry does not significantly impact clinical outcomes at 1 year postoperatively.
• Longer-term studies are needed to fully understand the implications of patellar design on function and outcomes in TKA.