Revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can pose significant challenges. Successful reconstruction requires a systematic approach with the ultimate goal being a well fixed and balanced knee prosthesis. Careful preoperative planning is necessary for safe exposure, component removal, and appropriate management of bone loss during revision knee surgery.

Prior to surgery, the cause of failure must be understood. Revision TKA without a clear diagnosis has been shown to lead to predictable poor results. A careful history and physical examination for both intrinsic and extrinsic causes of knee pain need to be performed. An ESR and C-reactive protein should be obtained in every patient with a painful TKA and in cases of serologic abnormalities, a joint aspiration performed.

The integrity of the collateral ligaments and the degree of anticipated bone loss at the time of revision needs to be established. In cases of severe collateral ligament deficiency, the need for constrained or hinged knee implants should be anticipated. Plain radiographs are needed to evaluate present component position, loosening, and osteolysis. Oblique radiographs and advanced imaging (i.e. CT or MRI) have been shown to more accurately quantify the severity of lysis compared to standard radiographs. This careful assessment can help prepare for the need of special implants, stems, wedges, or augments.

Finally, patient risk stratification and medical co-management can help minimise complications following revision TKA. Optimization of potentially modifiable risk factors such as glycemic control, BMI, and preoperative hemoglobin can reduce perioperative morbidity and complications.

Introduction: Acetabular component positioning, offset, combined anteversion, leg length, and soft tissue envelope around the hip plays an important role in hip function and durability. In this paper we will focus on acetabular positioning of the cup.

Technique: The axis of the pelvis is identified intra-operatively as a line drawn from the highest point of the iliac crest to the middle of the greater trochanter. Prior to reaming the acetabulum, an undersized trial acetabular component is placed parallel and inside the transverse ligament, inside the anterior column and projecting posterior to the axis of the pelvis. This direction is marked and the subsequent reaming and final component placement is performed in the same direction. The lateral opening is judged based on 45-degree angle from the tear drop to the lateral margin of the acetabulum on anteroposterior pelvic radiographs. The final anteversion of the cup is adjusted based on increase or decrease of lumbar lordosis and combined anteversion.

Methods: Anteroposterior pelvic radiographs of 100 consecutive patients undergoing posterior THR between September 2010 and March 2011 with this method were evaluated for cup inclination angle and anteversion using EBRA software.

Results: There were no malalignment or dislocation. The mean cup inclination angle and anteversion were 41 ± 5.1 degrees (range 37.1 – 48.4) and 22.1 ± 4.8 degrees (range 16.6 – 29.3), respectively.

Conclusion: This is a reproducible method of cup positioning and with proper femoral component position, restores leg length, offset, combined anteversion, and balances soft tissue around the hip. These factors affect the incidence of dislocation, infection, reduced wear, and durability.

Pre-operative planning in revision total knee replacement is important to simplify the surgery for the implant representative, operating room personnel and the surgeon. In revision knee arthroplasty, many implant options can be considered. This includes cemented and cementless primary and revision tibial and femoral components, with posterior cruciate retention or resection, and either with no constraint, varus/valgus constraint, or with rotating hinge bearings. One may also need femoral and tibial spacers or bulk allograft. It is important to pre-operatively determine which of these implants you may need. If I ask my implant representative to “bring everything you've got, just in case,” I will get 23 pans of instruments, 24 bins of implants composed of 347 boxes of sterile implants, and chaos for everyone.

Occasionally, one may not need to revise all components, so the surgeon needs to be familiar with the implants they are revising. Consider having some or all compatible components available.

Most revision knee implants can be conservatively cemented with diaphyseal engaging press-fit stems. Most importantly, pre-operative physical examination and radiographs are used to determine the status of the collateral ligaments, so that the appropriate constrained implants will be available at surgery. Radiographs will also show the amount and location of bone loss. This will determine if revision type implants, spacers or bone graft will be needed. Radiographically, one can determine the appropriate joint line position relative to the existing femoral component to simplify the surgery. Excellent pre-operative planning will minimises the need to bring in an excessive number of instruments and implants. It will help assure that the patient has a stable revision knee and simplify the surgery for all participants.

Preoperative planning is important – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is perhaps useful to consider the process of preoperative planning in three areas: 1) the patient, 2) the hip, and 3) the operative environment.

The Patient - The patient must first be an appropriate candidate for surgery. By this, they should have confirmed arthritis of the hip by radiograph and physical exam and should have failed conservative management. They should have pain and/or physical disability that impair their activities of daily living. They should be fit and willing to undergo surgery. Their expectations of surgical outcome should be reasonable and the anticipated net clinical benefit of the procedure should outweigh the risks.

There are several patient variables that should be optimised prior to surgery. Blood glucose control in diabetics should be tightly controlled prior to surgery as failure to do so results in an increased risk of infection. Anemia should be ascertained in the history and diagnosed with a CBC if suspected. Reasons for anemia should be addressed and hemoglobin should be optimised preoperatively. Nutrition is important to reduce the risk of infection. Be aware of paradoxical malnutrition in the obese. Understand if the patient has an allergy to penicillin and what specifically the reaction is. Patients with a history that is not characteristic of an IgE mediated response should be offered a cephalosporin. The patient's risk of bleeding or clot as well as their tolerance of specific anticoagulants should be understood and planned for regarding the postoperative anticoagulant. Assess the patient for risk of dislocation.

The Hip - Assessment of the hip is important. An AP of the pelvis and lateral of the hip should be obtained in all cases. Any pelvic obliquity should be assessed in relation to leg length discrepancy, and, if necessary, a 3-foot standing x-ray should be obtained. Leg length and offset should be assessed carefully. Beware of the patient with the operative hip presenting as the longer leg as it is difficult to shorten a hip via THA and the net effect of the intervention is most often lengthening. Patients with low offset should be planned for carefully so that low offset components are available. Patients with high offset need corresponding high offset implants in order to avoid leg lengthening. The acetabulum should be assessed for true center of rotation and orientation, as well as for dysplasia or deficiency. The femur should be assessed for shape, offset and neck angle, as well as for any proximal or distal mismatch. Be prepared to remove hardware that will be in the way.

Template all your cases. The most experienced surgeons still template for THA. Have a Plan A and a Plan B for every case

The Operative Environment - The surgeon is ultimately in control of the operative environment. Make sure that the implants anticipated and sizes are available. I personally put them in the room before the case. Ensure that qualified assistants and nurses are available. Know in advance and communicate when high BMI patients are involved. Display the radiographs and anticipated plan and make sure the team is aware of it. Ensure that antibiotics and tranexamic acid (if not contra-indicated) are administered at a timely fashion. Tell the staff in the time out that traffic flow is important and should be reduced to a minimum. Plan to close one of the doors during the case. Make sure protective covering is available and worn, such as protective eyewear and hair covers.

Patient specific instrumentation (PSI) is the latest advancement in total knee arthroplasty (TKA), which claims to improve alignment, simplify the surgical process, forecasts the component size and reduces the operating time. We discuss our experience of preoperative planning using default settings and making changes where necessary.

We analysed prospectively collected data in 100 consecutive PSI knee replacements (Zimmer®) performed in our institute during the period February to August 2012. All patients underwent MRI scans of the ipsilateral hip, knee and ankle joints. From the images, Materialise® (Leuven, Belgium) provided 3D model of the knee on which preoperative planning was done using PSI software. All default plans were checked and appropriate changes were made before the senior author approved final plan for preparation of patient specific moulds.

We made 636 changes (6.36 changes per knee) preoperatively from the default settings. In only 4% of the patients, the primary cuts needed revision. Thus in 96% of the cases, the primary cuts allowed optimal alignment and gap balancing with appropriate soft tissue release. Our preoperative planning predicted 99% of femoral and 98% of tibial component sizes definitively implanted.

Our results show the importance of the surgeon's input in approving preoperative planning with this technique.

Accurate glenoid component placement continues to be a challenge. Knowledge that glenoid loosening is affected by malpositioning of the glenoid component has led to the development of patient specific instrumentation (PSI) in an attempt to optimise glenoid positioning. The ideal PSI would be reusable, reliable, cost-effective and robust enough to tolerate the stresses applied by the surgeon in the context of difficult glenohumeral exposure. The VIP system is a CT scan-based PSI with a reusable instrument. The subtle nuances of pre-operative planning will be discussed in a separate short video.

The live surgery will incorporate use of the patient specific instrumentation during glenoid placement and the use of a short stemmed fourth generation total shoulder arthroplasty.

Introduction

Computed tomography (CT) based preoperative planning provides useful information for severe TKA and revision TKA cases, such as the amount of augmentation, length of stem extension and component alignment, to achieve correct alignment and joint line. In this study, we evaluated TKA alignment performed with CT preoperative planning.

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) was first described over 30 years ago and allows replacement of a single compartment in patients who have isolated osteoarthritis. However, UKA is more technically challenging than total knee arthroplasty due to limited exposure as a minimally invasive procedure. In addition to component alignment and fixation, ligament balancing plays an important role in implant survival. Some failures of early UKA systems were attributed to a failure to adequately balance the knee. The development of robots to aid in performing the procedure has lead to renewed interest in this surgical technique. The use of a robot-assisted system allows the orthopaedic surgeon to verify that balancing sought pre-operatively correlates with that obtained at surgery. Some studies have shown good post-operative mechanical alignment utilizing this method. The aim of this study was to examine the variation in pre-operative templated ligament balance and that obtained during the operation.

Data were prospectively collected on 51 patients (52 knees) undergoing robot-assisted unicompartmental knee arthroplasty by a single surgeon. For pre-operative planning, dynamic ligament balancing was obtained of the operative knee under valgus stress, prior to any bony cuts. Final intra-operative images with the prosthesis in place were taken without valgus stress. Positive values denoted loose ligamentous balancing while negative values indicated ligament tightness.

A small variation of less than 1 mm was measured between the pre-operative plan and the final image with the implant in place. At 0 degrees the mean change was −0.26 mm (range, −4.40 to 2.20 mm), at 30 degrees −0.53 mm (range, −5.30 to 1.80 mm), at 60 degrees −0.04 mm (range, −3.10 to 2.30 mm) and at 90 degrees 0.16 mm (range, −2.70 to 2.00 mm). These results show that planned dynamic ligament balancing is accurate to within 0.52 mm.

The technological advancements with robotic feedback in orthopaedic surgery can aid in the success of unicompartmental knee replacement surgery. Ensuring that pre-operative templated changes match those performed during surgery is an important predictor of outcome. With proper planning prior to surgery, the use of a robot in UKA can improve ligament balancing. This can be done at various angles, ensuring excellent ligament balancing throughout the entire range of motion. Correct component alignment reduces the risk of prosthetic failure and may increase the length of implant survival. Further fine-tuning of the accuracy of feedback between the robot and the anatomical points will improve the accuracy of UKA.

Remarkable strides made in medical technology and techniques of total knee arthroplasty over past 5 years. These changes have included: minimally invasive surgical techniques, pain management, navigation, kinematic design of prosthesis and recently custom fitted surgical guides based on the anatomic axis. To date, there has been little documentation of the use of these custom-cutting surgical guides.

There has been significant controversy as to the necessity of using the neutral alignment of the mechanical axis for this surgery for a long lived replacement. A recent study by Pagnano et al in 2008 demonstrated that it could not be confirmed that improvement in the mechanical axis to zero would lead to a long-term improvement in survivorship, and it was noted that there was actually a slight trend for the outliers to be more successful. A recent study (Three-Dimensional Morphology and Kinematics of the Distal Part of the Femur Viewed in Virtual Reality Eckhoff et al, JBJS 2005) provides kinematic and morphologic validation for a single cylindrical flexion-extension axis of the knee. This fixed flexion-extension axis is best approximated by the axis of cylinders, fit to the circular posterior femoral condyles, and is designated the cylindrical axis of the knee.

An innovative surgical technique of total knee arthroplasty has been developed using MRI-based custom fitting cutting blocks. This technique advocates the use of an individual knee MRI, utilizes the cylindrical axis and proceeds with precise measurements of the arthritic knee. Proprietary software creates a 3-dimensional model of the knee and then corrects the deformity virtually, and recreates the knee's pre-arthritic alignment. Guides are designed to fit on diseased bone and set transverse resection and rotation and enable implant placement that restores joint to pre-disease position.

32 patients were enrolled in this IRB-approved study of total knee replacement. Pre-operative standing anterior-posterior lower extremity x-rays were required for assessment of the degree of malalignment. Patients with a malalignment greater than 15 degrees were excluded from the study. Only 26 knees with varus alignment were in the final study group since the valgus group was very small in number. Computer navigation appears to provide the most precise kinematic measurement of the knee, and was used during the operation to assess and quantitate the pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative alignment and potential correction. The pre-operative pathologic malalignment was documented by navigation and the post-operative alignment did demonstrate some correction of this malalignment back to the presumed pre-arthritic alignment.

Change in alignment of 26 varus knees was documented as the following: Pre-op AP standing XRay: average 6.9 degrees varus; Pre-op Navigation: average 6.3 degrees varus; Post-op Navigation: average 3.4 varus degrees. This resulted in post-operative correction of the varus knee to 2.9 degrees.

Documentation of resections planes was noted as the following: Femur AP Resection 3.0 degrees valgus (r: 3.5 varus-4.0 valgus); Femur Distal Resection: 3.7 degrees flexion (r: 2.5 ext-10.0 flex); Femur Rotation Resection: 3.6 degrees internal rotation (r: 2.5 ext-7.5int); Tibia AP Resection 3.3 degrees varus (r: 2.0 valgus-6.0 varus); Tibia Slope Resection: 3.7 degrees posterior (r: 0.5 ant-9.0 post).

This study did support the premise that custom-fitting surgical guides locate the cylindrical axis, as determined by Eckhoff et al. This may provide the patient with less soft tissue stress and allowing a quicker return to function as reported in earlier studies. This surgeon did recognize obstacles using the custom-fitting surgical guides including determining the extent of debridement of soft tissue and osteophytes to allow appropriate capture of the blocks, as well as the risk of PCL injury. Navigation can be used as a training tool to aid in the prevention of significant error.

By locating the cylindrical axis, the natural kinematics of the knee are addressed, including the soft tissue tension. As the mechanical axis is being challenged, we look to the cylindrical axis as our potential objective, unique for each patient. Further validated studies are required, to understand the operative kinematics and the long term effects of the cylindrical axis.

Introduction

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) was first described over 30 years ago and allows replacement of a single compartment in patients who have isolated osteoarthritis.¹ However, UKA is more technically challenging than total knee arthroplasty due to limited exposure as a minimally invasive procedure. In addition to component alignment and fixation, ligament balancing plays an important role in implant survival.² Some failures of early UKA systems were attributed to a failure to adequately balance the knee. The development of robots to aid in performing the procedure has lead to renewed interest in this surgical technique.

The use of a robot-assisted system allows the orthopaedic surgeon to verify that balancing sought pre-operatively correlates with that obtained at surgery. Some studies have shown good post-operative mechanical alignment utilizing this method.³ The aim of this study was to examine the variation in pre-operative templated ligament balance and that obtained during the operation.

Two critical steps in achieving optimal results and minimizing complications (dislocation, lengthening, and intraoperative fracture) are careful preoperative planning and more recently, the option of intraoperative imaging in order to optimise accurate and reproducible total hip replacement. The important issues to ascertain are relative limb length, offset and center of rotation. It is important to start the case knowing the patient's perception of their limb length. Patient perception is equally important, if not more important, than the radiographic assessment. On the acetabular side, the teardrop should be identified and the amount of reaming necessary to place the inferior margin of the acetabular component adjacent to the tear drop should be noted. Superiorly the amount of exposed metal that is expected to be seen during surgery should be measured in millimeters. Once the key issues of limb length, offset, center of rotation, and acetabular component position relative to the native acetabulum have been confirmed along with the expected sizing of the acetabular and femoral components, it is critical that the operative plan is reproduced at the time of surgery and this can best be consistently performed with the use of intraoperative imaging. Advances in digital imaging now make efficient, cost-effective assessment of hip replacement possible. Embedded software allows accurate confirmation of the preoperative plan intraoperatively when correction of potential errors is easily possible. Such technology is now mature after years of clinical use and studies have confirmed its success in avoiding outliers and achieving optimal results.

We sought to assess the precision of our surgical techniques for total knee replacement in achieving the preoperative plan generated by a combination of MRI scan and long leg radiographs.

For each patient in the study, we used the Visionaire system by Smith Nephew to generate a preoperative plan and custom patient instrumentation according to our usual protocols.

We then performed on three patients a total knee replacement using three different techniques:

Total knee replacement with standard instrumentation.

During surgery we compared the actual bone cuts performed to the cuts predicted by the Visionaire preoperative plan, component sizing, and postoperatively analyzed the alignment achieved for the total knee replacement.

In each case the size used matched the size predicted in our preoperative plan, our bone cuts averaged within 0.5mm of target, and restoration of neutral mechanical alignment of the lower extremity was achieved.

We observed that careful preoperative planning improved our surgical outcomes and regardless of instrumentation used a high level of precision could be achieved.

Puropose

Three-dimensional (3D) templating based on computed tomography (CT) in total hip arthroplasty improves the accuracy of implant size. However, even when using 3D-CT preoperative planning, getting the concordance rate between planned and actual sizes to reach 100% is not easy. To increase the concordance rate, it is important to analyze the causes of mismatch; however, no such studies have been reported. This study had the following two purposes: to clarify the concordance rate in implant size between 3D-CT preoperative planning and actual size; and to analyze risk factors for mismatch.

Introduction

Recently, computer-aided orthopaedic surgery has enabled three dimensional (3D) preoperative planning, navigation systems and patient matched instrument, and they provide good clinical results in total knee arthroplasty. However, the preoperative planning methods and the criteria in total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) still have not sufficiently established due to the uncertainty of 3D anatomical geometry of the elbow joints. In order to clarify the 3D anatomical geometry, this study measured 3D bone models of the normal elbow joints. Additionally this study attempted to apply the 3D preoperative planning to ordinary surgery. Then the postoperative position of implant has evaluated as compared with the position in 3D preoperative planning.

Several preoperative planning tools in computer-assisted surgery in acetabular fractures have been proposed. Moreover, all these preoperative planning tools are based on geometrical repositioning with their own limitations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of our prototype virtual planning tool using a rigid biomechanical model to predict failure in fracture reduction.

Between November of 2015 and June of 2016, 10 patients were operated by the main author for acetabular fracture in our institution. To validate our biomechanical model planning tool, biomechanical simulation was performed for each patient immediately after the surgery. Reduction quality was assessed on post-operative CT scans. A 3D model of the acetabular fracture was build out of the CT images using the non-commercial software Itksnap. Then a biomechanical model implemented within the non-commercial Artisynth framework was used to perform virtual reduction. Surgical approach and surgical strategy according to the operative report were simulated. The simulated reductions and the surgical reductions were compared.

The same reductions were obtained during surgery and biomechanical simulation in the 10 cases. For 7 cases, reduction was achieved by anterior surgical approach and so was the simulation. For 3 cases, reduction was achieved by posterior surgical approach and so was the simulation. The biomechanical simulation found similar results using the same surgical strategy with 9 anatomical reductions (90%) and one imperfect reduction (10%). The mean duration to perform acetabular planning surgery was 24 +/− 9 min [16–38].

Our virtual planning tool using a rigid biomechanical model can predict success or failure in fracture reduction according to the surgical approach and the surgical strategy.

The elements of my routine pre-operative planning include skin and scar assessment, the limb length (physical exam and radiographic assessments), the socket type, the stem type, and radiographic templating. Blood management is rarely an issue for primary total hips today and I generally do not recommend pre-operative autologous donation. I currently use a low molecular weight heparin for venous thromboembolic prophylaxis for most all patients. All of my patients have pre-operative medical clearance from a hospital intensivist.

A press-fit modular cementless socket is my “workhorse”, although I occasionally use supplemental fixation with spikes (low bone density) or screws (shallow or otherwise deficient hemisphere). Cemented fixation is reserved for hips with radiation necrosis. I use a dual-offset tapered cementless stem in most cases but will use a modular stem in dysplastic, post-traumatic, or severely osteoporotic femurs.

I template every case. My goals are to determine component sizes - “the part inside the bone” and improve the biomechanics of the hip – “the part outside the bone”. Sizing is relatively straightforward. For the socket, I use the teardrop and the superior bony edge as landmarks for size and position. I use a Johnson's lateral view radiograph to assess socket version and anterior osteophytes. With a tapered stem, proximal fit on the AP radiograph is the goal and the stem does not need to be canal filling. For the neck resection, I reference off the lesser trochanter.

Medialisation of the hip center of rotation (COR) decreases the moment arm for body weight; increasing the femoral off-set lengthens the lever arm for the abductor muscles. These changes in hip biomechanics have a double benefit: a reduction in required abductor forces and lower joint reaction forces. There is accumulating clinical evidence that such favorable alterations in biomechanics can improve clinical outcomes and reduce wear. Higher femoral offset has been associated with greater hip abduction motion and abductor muscle strength. In two independent studies, higher femoral offset has been associated with a significant reduction in polyethylene wear.

The traditional arthroplasty goal has been to re-create the offset of the operated hip. In an analysis of 41 patients with one arthritic hip and one clinically and radiographically normal hip (Rolfe et al., 2006 ORS), we found that the horizontal femoral offset of the arthritic hip was, on average, 6mm less than that of the normal, contralateral hip. Considering this, and with medialisation of the COR, is it reasonable to make the femoral offset a few millimeters greater than that pre-op. With modular trial components, final offset and limb-length adjustments are made intra-operatively by assessing soft tissue tension, joint stability and range of motion.

Applying these principles in a consecutive series of 40 hips, the hip center of rotation was medialised by 5.6mm and the horizontal femoral offset was increased by an average of 9.5mm, being larger than the normal, contralateral hip by an average of 5.2mm. This combination increased the net biomechanical advantage (NBA) of the diseased hip to an average of 12.5% more than the normal, contralateral hip. The increase in femoral offset is compensated for by medialising the center of rotation. The average lateralisation of the proximal femur of 3.9mm did not cause trochanteric bursitis or other pain. When the offset is right, soft tissue tension can be maintained without over-lengthening. In this series, 2.9mm average lengthening resulted in the reconstructed limb being an average of 1.1mm shorter than the normal side.

The elements of my routine pre-op. planning include skin and scar assessment, the limb length (physical exam and radiographic assessments), the socket type, the stem type, and radiographic templating. Blood management is rarely an issue for primary total hips today and I generally do not recommend pre-operative autologous donation. I currently use a low molecular weight heparin for venous thromboembolic prophylaxis for most all patients. All of my patients have pre-operative medical clearance from a hospital intensivist.

A press-fit modular cementless socket is my “workhorse,” although I occasionally use supplemental fixation with spikes (low bone density) or screws (shallow or otherwise deficient hemisphere). Cemented fixation is reserved for hips with radiation necrosis. I use a dual-offset tapered cementless stem in most cases but will use a modular stem in dysplastic, post-traumatic, or severely osteoporotic femurs.

I template every case. My goals are to determine component sizes - “the part inside the bone” and improve the biomechanics of the hip – “the part outside the bone”. Sizing is relatively straight forward. For the socket, I use the teardrop and the superior bony edge as landmarks for size and position. I use a Johnson's lateral view radiograph to assess socket version and anterior osteophytes. With a tapered stem, proximal fit on the AP radiograph is the goal and the stem does not need to be canal filling. For the neck resection, I reference off the lesser trochanter.

Medialisation of the hip centre of rotation (COR) decreases the moment arm for body weight; increasing the femoral off-set lengthens the lever arm for the abductor muscles. These changes in hip biomechanics have a double benefit: a reduction in required abductor forces and lower joint reaction forces. There is accumulating clinical evidence that such favourable alterations in biomechanics can improve clinical outcomes and reduce wear. Higher femoral off-set has been associated with greater hip abduction motion and abductor muscle strength. In two independent studies, higher femoral off-set has been associated with a significant reduction in polyethylene wear.

The traditional arthroplasty goal has been to re-create the off-set of the operated hip. In an analysis of 41 patients with one arthritic hip and one clinically and radiographically normal hip (Rolfe et al., 2006 ORS), we found that the horizontal femoral off-set of the arthritic hip was, on average, 6 mm less than that of the normal, contralateral hip. Considering this, and with medialisation of the COR, is it reasonable to make the femoral off-set a few millimeters greater than that pre-op. With modular trial components, final off-set and limb-length adjustments are made intra-operatively by assessing soft tissue tension, joint stability and range of motion.

Applying these principles in a consecutive series of 40 hips, the hip centre of rotation was medialised by 5.6 mm and the horizontal femoral off-set was increased by an average of 9.5 mm, being larger than the normal, contralateral hip by an average of 5.2 mm. This combination increased the net biomechanical advantage of the diseased hip to an average of 12.5% more than the normal, contralateral hip. The increase in femoral off-set is compensated for by medialising the COR. The average lateralisation of the proximal femur of 3.9 mm did not cause trochanteric bursitis or other pain. When the offset is right, soft tissue tension can be maintained without over-lengthening. In this series, 2.9 mm average lengthening resulted in the reconstructed limb being an average of 1.1 mm shorter than the normal side.

For several years now at the Gaetano Pini Institute of Milan, Italy, we have been improving upon an original instrumental protocol (by means of several radiographic examinations and TC) to understand both congenital and acquired deformations of the lower limbs. Thanks to this technique, it is possibile to evaluate the specific degree of the deformation from any perspective, also from the rotational one; it gives us the possibility to state precisely the dysmorphic pathological consequences on the hip, on the knee and on the ankle joints. This tested kind of interpretation also makes it possible to establish more accurate suggestions regarding surgical correction. If this final correction is achieved in more than one phase, it may be possible to improve the surgical treatment if the contemporary action on the three reference spatial planes is considered. We have already collected data on numerous cases of post-traumatic deformations or congenital dysmorphisms studied by several techniques.

Introduction Dedicated software has been developed to allow computerised pre-operative planning for joint replacements where digital x-rays of known magnification are placed on a computer screen and templates are matched to produce an accurate plan. Improving efficiency, reducing error and improving patient outcomes are the goals.

Methods Two methods for determining magnification of x-rays have been considered. 1: a metal marker of known size is placed on the limb in the same plane as the joint and the software matches the template to the x-ray. Several problems arise including unrecognizable markers in the obese or when taking full pelvis x-ray. 2: a computer tomogram scout film provides a digital format, accurate magnification, a film of adequate quality and the capacity to plan on the normal hip in unilateral disease. The new software was developed using digital radiology to provide; certainty of patient identification, tools for measurement, tools for drawing and to allow linear and angular movement of components of the image. Risk management was undertaken. Data concerning component details completed the program.

Results The phase one trial demonstrated that the tool achieved the goals set. A digital image could be matched to implant component data. The tools allowed; measurement of relevant anatomy, consideration of leg length difference, and angular deformity, identification of landmarks such as center of rotation of the socket and offset, and comparison between the normal and pathological sides. Components could be chosen and errors detected, such as incompatible components or wrong side, and an order generated for forwarding to the supplier. Choice of stem was always within one size of pre-operative templating. Choice of socket was within two sizes.

Conclusions The explanation for discrepancy may be the intra-operative desire to judge size according to “feel” at surgery. A surgeon may wish to demonstrate accuracy by “forcing” intra-operative decision towards verifying pre-operative planning. What is surprisingly is that surgeons do not have uniform views as to the “ideal” socket position or stem position.

In relation to the conduct of this study, one or more the authors have received, or are likely to receive direct material benefits.

Patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) has been greatly marketed in knee endoprosthetics for the past few years. By utilising PSI, the prosthesis´ accuracy of fit should be improved. Besides, both surgical time and hospital costs should be reduced. Whether these proposed advantages are achieved in medial UKA remains unclear yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the preoperative planning accuracy, time saving, and cost effectiveness utilising PSI in UKA.

Data from 22 patients (24 knees) with isolated medial unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis were analysed retrospectively. The sample comprised sixteen men and six women (mean age 61 ± 8 years) who were electively provided with a UKA utilising PSI between June 2012 and October 2014. For evaluation of preoperative planning accuracy (1) planned vs. implanted femoral component size, (2) planned vs. implanted tibial component size, and (3) planned vs. implanted polyethylene insert size were analysed. Since UKA is a less common, technically demanding surgery, depending in large part on the surgeon´s experience, preoperative planning reliability was also evaluated with regard to surgeon experience. Moreover, actual surgical time and cost effectiveness utilising PSI was evaluated.

Preoperative planning had to be modified intraoperatively to a wide extend for gaining an optimal outcome. The femoral component had to be adjusted in 41.7% of all cases, the tibial component in 58.3%, and the insert in 87.5%. Less experienced surgeons had to change preoperative planning more often than experienced surgeons. Utilising PSI increased surgical time regardless of experience. Linear regression revealed PSI-planning and surgeon inexperience as main predictors for increased surgical time. Additionally, PSI increased surgical costs due to e.g. enlarged surgical time, license fees and extraordinary expenditure for MRI scans.

The preoperative planning accuracy depends on many different factors. The advertised advantages of PSI could not be fully supported in case of UKA on the basis of the here presented data – especially not for the inexperienced surgeon.