Abstract
Nowadays, initial fixation and relative movements of the tibial baseplate with respect to the bone are not a hot topic anymore. Most surgeons have already accepted cement fixation and don't aim for bone ingrowth anymore. This might change if the trend towards implants that offer always a deeper flexion persists. These implants tend to load the tibial baseplate more posteriorly during deep flexion potentially causing a higher risk of lift_off and thus loosening. The ideal concept pushing our team was the search for a design of either a stem or other fixation features able to hold the baseplate to the bone keeping the amount of bone that needs to be removed within acceptable limits.
The Profix tibial baseplate (Smith & Nephew) has a wide range of fixation techniques available. It can be cemented or used cementless and, in both cases, several stem designs are available. One of these is the so-called Omega stem. It has the advantage of being thin (in fact it is a stem and a chisel at the same time) but also stiff, withstanding bending loads due to its curvature in the transversal plane. It is also relatively short compared to other stems and it is thus bone-sparing and suitable for MIS.
