Redefining Knee Balance in a Medially Stabilized Prosthesis: An In-Vitro Study

Background To date, there is still no consensus on what soft tissues must be preserved and what structures can be safely released during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with a medially stabilized implant. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a progressive selective release of the medial and lateral soft tissues in a knee implanted with a medially stabilized prosthesis. Method Six cadaveric fresh-frozen full leg specimens were tested. In each case, kinematic pattern and mediolateral laxity were measured in three stages: firstly, prior to implantation; secondly, after the implantation of the trial components, but before any soft tissue release; and thirdly, progressively as soft tissue was released with the trial implant in place. The incremental impact of each selective release on knee balance was then analyzed. Results In all cases sagittal stability was not affected by the progressive release of the lateral soft tissue envelope. It was possible to perform progressive lateral release provided the anterior one-third of the iliotibial band (ITB) remained intact. Progressive medial release could be performed on the medial side provided the anterior fibers of the superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) remained intact. Conclusion The medially conforming implant remains stable provided the anterior fibers of sMCL and the anterior fibers of the ITB remain intact. The implant's sagittal stability is mainly dependent on its medial ball-in-socket design

Redefining Knee Balance in a Medially Stabilized Prosthesis: An In-Vitro Study

Background To date, there is still no consensus on what soft tissues must be preserved and what structures can be safely released during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with a medially stabilized implant. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of a progressive selective release of the medial and lateral soft tissues in a knee implanted with a medially stabilized prosthesis. Method Six cadaveric fresh-frozen full leg specimens were tested. In each case, kinematic pattern and mediolateral laxity were measured in three stages: firstly, prior to implantation; secondly, after the implantation of the trial components, but before any soft tissue release; and thirdly, progressively as soft tissue was released with the trial implant in place. The incremental impact of each selective release on knee balance was then analyzed. Results In all cases sagittal stability was not affected by the progressive release of the lateral soft tissue envelope. It was possible to perform progressive lateral release provided the anterior one-third of the iliotibial band (ITB) remained intact. Progressive medial release could be performed on the medial side provided the anterior fibers of the superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) remained intact. Conclusion The medially conforming implant remains stable provided the anterior fibers of sMCL and the anterior fibers of the ITB remain intact. The implant's sagittal stability is mainly dependent on its medial ball-in-socket design

Kinematic Evaluation of the GMK Sphere Implant During Gait Activities: A Dynamic Videofluoroscopy Study

Joint stability is a primary concern in total knee joint replacement. The GMK Sphere prosthesis was specifically designed to provide medial compartment anterior-posterior (A-P) stability, while permitting rotational freedom of the joint through a flat lateral tibial surface. The objective of this study was to establish the changes in joint kinematics introduced by the GMK Sphere prosthesis during gait activities in comparison to conventional posterior-stabilized (PS) fixed-bearing and ultra-congruent (UC) mobile-bearing geometries. The A-P translation and internal/external rotation of three cohorts, each with 10 good outcome subjects (2.9 ± 1.6 years postop), with a GMK Sphere, GMK PS or GMK UC implant were analysed throughout complete cycles of gait activities using dynamic videofluoroscopy. The GMK Sphere showed the smallest range of medial compartment A-P translation for level walking, downhill walking, and stair descent (3.6 ± 0.9 mm, 3.1 ± 0.8 mm, 3.9 ± 1.3 mm), followed by the GMK UC (5.7 ± 1.0 mm, 8.0 ± 1.7 mm, 8.7 ± 1.9 mm) and the GMK PS (10.3 ± 2.2 mm, 10.1 ± 2.6 mm, 11.6 ± 1.6 mm) geometries. The GMK Sphere exhibited the largest range of lateral compartment A-P translation (12.1 ± 2.2 mm), and the largest range of tibial internal/external rotation (13.2 ± 2.2°), both during stair descent. This study has shown that the GMK Sphere clearly restricts A-P motion of the medial condyle during gait activities while still allowing a large range of axial rotation. The additional comparison against the conventional GMK PS and UC geometries, not only demonstrates that implant geometry is a key factor in governing tibio-femoral kinematics, but also that the geometry itself probably plays a more dominant role for joint movement than the type of gait activity. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research$^{®}$ published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society. J Orthop Res 37:2337-2347, 2019

Tibio-femoral kinematics of the healthy knee joint throughout complete cycles of gait activities

Accurate assessment of 3D tibio-femoral kinematics is essential for understanding knee joint functionality, but also provides a basis for assessing joint pathologies and the efficacy of musculoskeletal interventions. Until now, however, the assessment of functional kinematics in healthy knees has been mostly restricted to the loaded stance phase of gait, and level walking only, but the most critical conditions for the surrounding soft tissues are known to occur during high-flexion activities. This study aimed to determine the ranges of tibio-femoral rotation and condylar translation as well as provide evidence on the location of the centre of rotation during multiple complete cycles of different gait activities. Based on radiographic images captured using moving fluoroscopy in ten healthy subjects during multiple cycles of level walking, downhill walking and stair descent, 3D femoral and tibial poses were reconstructed to provide a comprehensive description of tibio-femoral kinematics. Despite a significant increase in joint flexion, the condylar antero-posterior range of motion remained comparable across all activities, with mean translations of 6.3–8.3 mm and 7.3–9.3 mm for the medial and lateral condyles respectively. Only the swing phase of level walking and stair descent exhibited a significantly greater range of motion for the lateral over the medial compartment. Although intra-subject variability was low, considerable differences in joint kinematics were observed between subjects. The observed subject-specific movement patterns indicate that accurate assessment of individual pre-operative kinematics together with individual implant selection and/or surgical implantation decisions might be necessary before further improvement to joint replacement outcome can be achieved.ISSN:0021-9290ISSN:1873-238