A935. CLINICAL OUTCOMES FOR MINIMUM 5 YEARS AFTER COMPUTER-ASSISTED TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY

Abstract

Background: The use of computer-assisted navigation system had proved to result in consistently accurate alignment of prosthesis in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), however, the clinical midterm to long-term results remains unclear. The objective of this study is to investigate whether clinical results after computer-assisted TKA is superior to the conventional surgical method at midterm, minimum for 5 years follow-up.

Materials: From October 2002 to May 2003, we implanted 30 posterior stabilized total knee prostheses (PFC Sigma; DePuy Inc) using a computed tomography-free navigation system (Vector Vision) for patients diagnosed as osteoarthritis. A control group of 30 matched total knee prostheses of the same type were implanted via a classical, surgeon-controlled technique. Midterm 5 year clinical results including range of motion and Knee Society Clinical Rating Score were compared with these groups. The navigation group was comprised of 23 women and 4 men with a mean age of 81.0 years (range: 56–89 years) at final follow-up and the manual group was comprised of 23 women and 4 men with a mean age of 78.2 years (range: 51–87 years).The results were analyzed statistically and differences of p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: Mean follow-up duration was 68.9 months (range: 60–78 months) in the navigation group and 72.8 months (range: 60–80 months) in the manual group. Total 6 patients (3 patients in each group) were lost to follow-up because of their death or lost contact. The follow-up rate was 90 %. No revision or reoperations were required in this study. The average preoperative knee society knee score (KSS) and knee society functional score (KSFS) in the navigation group were 52.9 points (range: 43–77 points) and 51.4 points (range: 25–80 points), respectively and the average postoperative scores were 89.7 points (range: 64–100 points) and 79.7 points (range: 40–100 points), respectively. The average preoperative KSS and KSFS in the manual group were 50.7 points (range: 43–77 points) and 50.3 points (range: 10–80 points), respectively, and the average postoperative scores were 89.6 points (range: 70–100 points) and 75.2 (range: 5–100 points), respectively. No significant differences were noted between the two groups both pre-and postoperatively. The average preoperative range of motion (ROM) in the navigation group was 105.0° (75°–125°); −8.6° (range: 0° to −25°) for extension and 113.6° (range: 85°–135°) for flexion, respectively. The average postoperative ROM was 113.8° (85°–130°); −1.0° (range: 0° to −10°) for extension and 117.0° (range: 105°–130°) for flexion, respectively. The average preoperative ROM in the manual group was 102.5° (65°–140°); −10.2° (range: 0° to −25°) for extension and 112.7° (range: 75°–140°) for flexion, respectively, the average postoperative ROM was 106.9° (80°–130°); −0.0° (range: 0°) for extension and 106.9° (range: 80°–130°) for flexion, respectively. Although no significant difference was found between preoperative ROM for the two groups, the navigation group showed a significantly better ROM compared to the manual group.

Conclusions: Minimum 5-year follow-up of computer-assisted TKA used in the present study revealed that better ROM was achieved, compared with the conventional surgical method. KSS and KSFS were equally good among these two groups. The results focused on the radiographically malaligned patients and further longer follow-up were needed to reveal whether computer-assisted TKA has true clinical benefits compared with the conventional surgical method.