No difference in patella mobility between conventional mechanically aligned and robotic-assisted functionally aligned...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Biomedical Engineering
• Robotics in Medicine

Background:

• Robotic-assisted (RA) surgery enhances precision in total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
• Personalized component placement in RA-TKA may influence patella mobility and clinical outcomes.
• Standardization of alignment is a key benefit of robotic assistance in TKA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of functional robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (RA-TKA) on patella mobility.
• To compare clinical outcomes between RA-TKA and conventional total knee arthroplasty (C-TKA).
• To determine if personalized component placement in RA-TKA affects patella mobility and patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 80 patients undergoing TKA.
• Comparison of patella mobility (medial and lateral translation) using a patellostabilometer (PSM) in 51 RA-TKA patients and 29 C-TKA patients.
• Clinical outcomes assessed using Oxford Knee Score (OKS), Knee Society Score (KSS), Kujala, and WOMAC scores pre- and post-operatively.

Main Results:

• Patella mobility increased by approximately 3 mm in both RA-TKA and C-TKA groups post-surgery.
• No significant difference in mediolateral patella mobility was observed between the RA-TKA and C-TKA groups (p=0.282).
• All clinical scores (OKS, KSS, Kujala, WOMAC) showed significant improvement in both groups post-surgery (p≤0.001), with no inter-group differences.

Conclusions:

• RA-TKA does not lead to significant changes in patella mobility compared to conventional TKA.
• Factors beyond robotic assistance, such as joint laxity and implant characteristics, may influence patella mobility.
• Both RA-TKA and C-TKA yield comparable improvements in clinical outcomes and patella mobility.