Our study aimed to examine if a mobile-bearing total knee replacement
(TKR) offered an advantage over fixed-bearing designs with respect
to rates of secondary resurfacing of the patella in knees in which
it was initially left unresurfaced. We examined the 11-year report of the New Zealand Joint Registry
and identified all primary TKR designs that had been implanted in
>
500 knees without primary resurfacing of the patella. We examined
how many of these were mobile-bearing, fixed-bearing cruciate-retaining
and fixed-bearing posterior-stabilised designs. We assessed the rates
of secondary resurfacing of the patella for each group and constructed
Kaplan-Meier survival curves.Objectives
Methods
There is conflicting evidence about the merits
of mobile bearings in total knee replacement, partly because most randomised
controlled trials (RCTs) have not been adequately powered. We report
the results of a multicentre RCT of mobile There was no significant difference between the groups pre-operatively:
mean OKS was 17.18 ( In this appropriately powered RCT, over the first five years
after total knee replacement functional outcomes, re-operation rates
and healthcare costs appear to be the same irrespective of whether
a mobile or fixed bearing is used. Cite this article: