Standard Total Ankle Arthroplasty vs. Patient-Specific Instrumentation: A Comparative Study

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Device Technology

Background:

• End-stage ankle osteoarthritis significantly impacts patient quality of life.
• Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is a viable treatment option for end-stage ankle osteoarthritis.
• Advancements in surgical instrumentation aim to improve TAA outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare surgical outcomes between total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) using standard technique versus patient-specific instrumentation (PSI).
• To evaluate the efficacy and safety of PSI in TAA procedures.
• To identify potential advantages of PSI over conventional TAA methods.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of patients with end-stage ankle osteoarthritis undergoing TAA.
• Two groups were compared: standard TAA technique and TAA using PSI.
• Outcomes assessed included operative time, complications, clinical scores (AOFAS), range of motion (ROM), and need for additional procedures.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in complication rates or 1-year AOFAS scores and ROM between standard TAA and PSI groups.
• TAA with PSI demonstrated significantly shorter operative times (91.92 min vs. 107.1 min).
• The PSI group reported less residual pain (30.7% vs. 62.7%) and required fewer adjunctive procedures (7.7% vs. 29.7%).

Conclusions:

• Patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) in TAA leads to reduced operative time and less postoperative pain.
• Both standard TAA and PSI techniques yield comparable complication rates and functional outcomes.
• PSI may offer advantages in terms of surgical efficiency and patient comfort for total ankle arthroplasty.