Abstract
INTRODUCTION
One of the main goals of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is to restore an adequate range of motion. The posterior femoral offset (PFO) may have a significant influence on the final flexion angle after TKA. The purpose of the present study was to compare the conventional, radiologic measurement of the PFO before and after TKA to the intra-operative, navigated measurement of the antero-posterior femoral dimension before and after TKA implantation.
MATERIAL
100 consecutive cases referred for end-stage knee osteo-arthritis have been included. Inclusion criteria were the availability of pre-TKA and post-TKA lateral X-rays and a navigated TKA implantation. There was no exclusion criterion.
METHODS
Pre-TKA and post-TKA digital lateral X-rays were performed with fluoroscopic control of the superposition of both femoral. The PFO was defined as the distance between the anterior femoral cortex and the most posterior point of the femoral condyles (figure 1). The TKA was implanted with help of a navigation system. The standard navigated procedure involves a navigated palpation of the anterior femoral cortex just proximal to the trochlea (figure 2) and a navigated palpation of the most posterior point of both femoral condyles (figure 3), allowing computation of the pre-TKA navigated PFO. The post-TKA PFO was calculated according to the the antero-posterior position of the prosthetic trochlea in comparison to the anterior femoral cortex and the size of the femoral implant.
Pre-TKA and post-TKA radiologic and navigated measurements of the PFO were compared with a paired Student t-test and calculation of the coefficient of linear correlation. The coherence between the data was analyzed according to Bland-Altman. The radiologic and navigated PFO changes were compared with a paired Student t-test and calculation of the coefficient of linear correlation. The sample size was calculated to allow detecting a 3 mm difference at a 0.05 level of significance and a power of 0.90. All statistical tests were performed at a 0.05 level of significance.
RESULTS
The mean paired difference between pre-TKA radiologic and navigated measurement was 3.8 mm ± 4.1 mm (range, −5.2 to 17.9 mm) (p<0.001). There was a significant moderate positive correlation between both measurements (R² = 0.41, p<0.001). There was a good coherence between both measurements (R² = 0.04).
The mean paired difference between post-TKA radiologic and navigated measurement was 5.9 mm ± 4.8 mm (range, −24.0 to 16.9 mm) (p<0.001). There was a significant moderate positive correlation between both measurements (R² = 0.51, p<0.001). There was a poor coherence between both measurements (R² = 0.11).
The mean paired radiologic PFO change was 1.5 mm ± 5.2 mm. The mean paired navigated PFO change was −0.9 mm ± 4.0 mm (range, −14.0 to 12.2 mm) (p<0.001). There was a significant weak positive correlation between both measurements (R² = 0.21, p<0.001). There was a good coherence between both measurements (R² = 0.002).
DISCUSSION
We observed a significant difference between radiologic and navigated results. This difference is likely to be clinically significant.
CONCLUSION
Radiological measurement of the femoral offset is not reliable either before or after TKA.
