Impact of postoperative femorotibial axis on functional outcomes in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty
Anıl Köktürk1
, Mehmet Ali Tokgoz2, Nazli Busra Cigercioglu3, Gul Baltaci4, Hamza Özer5
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Antalya City Hospital, Antalya, Türkiye
2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Gazi University Medical Faculty, Ankara, Türkiye
3Hacettepe University, Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Ankara, Türkiye
4Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
5Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Gazi University Medical Faculty, Ankara, Türkiye
Keywords: Functional outcomes, medial compartment gonarthrosis, osteoarthritis, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to compare the functional outcomes of patients undergoing fixed-bearing medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) classified as either varus or neutral based on their postoperative femorotibial angle (FTA), with the goal of evaluating the impact of FTA on functional results.
Patients and methods: A total of 38 knees of 35 patients (27 females, 8 males; mean age: 63.6±7.1 years; range, 52 to 75 years) were included in this retrospective study. The data was collected between December 15, 2020, and January 15, 2021. Patients were categorized into two groups based on their postoperative FTA. The neutral group consisted of patients with an FTA range of 5.1° to 7.4°, while the varus group included patients with an FTA range of 0.1° to 4.8°. Knee Outcome Osteoarthritis Score (KOOS), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores, sit to stand test results, and six minute walk test data were analyzed.
Results: The mean follow-up was 42.0±19.3 months. The postoperative VAS score for the varus group was 0.95±0.99, whereas the neutral group had a VAS score of 2.19±1.83 (p=0.021). The mean KOOS for the varus group was 88.01±7.88, whereas the neutral group had a mean KOOS score of 78.46±13.69 (p=0.006).
Conclusion: In patients undergoing UKA, mild varus alignment could yield superior early and midterm functional outcomes compared to a neutral femorotibial angle.
Citation: Köktürk A, Tokgoz MA, Busra Cigercioglu N, Baltaci G, Özer H. Impact of postoperative femorotibial axis on functional outcomes in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Jt Dis Relat Surg 2024;35(2):396-403. doi: 10.52312/jdrs.2024.1184.
he study protocol was approved by the Gazi University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (date: 14.12.2020, no: 032). The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
A written informed consent was obtained from each patient.
Idea/concept, design, data collection and/or processing, literature review, writing the article, materials: A.K.; Analysis and/or interpretation, writing the article, materials: M.A.T.; Data collection and/or processing, literature review, references and fundings: N.B.C.; Control/ supervision, critical review: G.B.; Control/supervisin, critical review, materials: H.Ö.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.