Purpose: The purpose of the study is to measure the resected surface of femur of the Korean patients during total knee arthroplasty surgery and to compare these measurements with the dimensions of femoral implants in current use.

Materials and Methods: Morphometric data (7 parameters) were obtained in 500 cases of resected femur of the Korean patients who underwent total knee arthroplasties, and these data were compared with four current implants designs.

Results: The range of medial-lateral width at the given implant varies widely. The anterior width of the resected femur at the condyle is smaller than the widths of the most implants, creating an overhang. The medial-lateral width of the condyle at the level of transepicondylar line is wider than most of the present implants. However the widths of the resected posterior condyles were narrower at anterior-posterior alignment, causing overhang at the posterior condyles. We felt this will cause anterior tensioning at flexion and reduce the ability to flex further.

Conclusion: The shape of the femur in Korean knee is different from that of current TKR implants in use, which are based on the anthropometric data of Caucasians. Therefore new design, better suited to the morphometric measurements of Korean knee, is necessary. Though historically this mismatch of the implant was well tolerated, new design to better fit the measurement of Korean knee should be considered for functional enhancement such as range of motion, durability and function.

In comparative studies of various gait patterns of 20 healthy subjects who used a cane, the vertical reaction forces and the passages of the center of force on the foot were measured and recorded by a force recording and analyzing device (Foot-scan system). The results indicated that when a cane was used in the ipsilateral hand, the center of force did not shift significantly compared with normal gait. When a cane was used in the contralateral hand, the center of force shifted medially compared with normal gait. In analysis of the vertical floor reaction force acting on the foot, the most efficient way to use a cane was to control the pacing so that the tip of the cane and the foot touched the ground simultaneously. By doing so, the cane could share as much as 34.3% of force at heel strike, 25.3% at midstance, and 29.7% at toe off of the stance phase of the gait cycle. When prescribing use of a cane for a patient with varus gonarthritis, the patient should be instructed to use the cane in the ipsilateral hand so as not to shift the center of force medially; for a patient with valgus gonarthritis, the cane should be used in the contralateral hand to shift the center of force medially. Patients should be taught to control pacing so that the tip of the cane and the foot touch the ground simultaneously.