Effect of femoral prosthesis flexion angle on unicompartmental knee arthroplasty with mobile platform

To investigate the effect of the flexion angle of a femoral prosthesis on the postoperative clinical outcome of patients with knee osteoarthritis who are undergoing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Patients were divided into three groups according to the flexion angle of the femoral prosthesis following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Group A comprised patients with a flexion angle of the femur prosthesis of less than 5°, Group B included those with a flexion angle of 5° to 10°, and Group C consisted of patients with a flexion angle of the femur prosthesis greater than 10°. The basic clinical data, visual analog scale (VAS) score, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score and knee range of motion (ROM) were subjected to statistical analysis and comparison between the groups.

No significant differences were observed in the basic data of the patients in each group. The ROM and VAS scores for the knee in the first month following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in groups B and C were significantly greater than those in group A. The HSS scores for the knee joint in Group B indicated superior outcomes in the initial postoperative month and the third postoperative month, as evidenced by the WOMAC scores, which demonstrated a statistically significant difference between Group B and the other two groups within the six-month postoperative period.

The short-term recovery of patients in Group B was the fastest. These results provide a new reference for the installation of femoral prostheses in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.