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In vivo pre- and postoperative three-dimensional knee kinematics in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Orthopaedic Science

Abstract

Background

Pre- and postoperative knee kinematics in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) can be theoretically related to clinical outcome and longevity after UKA with regard to ligament function and the degree of arthritic changes. However, the preoperative knee kinematics of patients indicated for UKA remain to be elucidated, and it is also unclear whether the preoperative kinematics can be maintained by the UKA procedure. The objective of this study was to examine the in vivo pre- and postoperative three-dimensional knee kinematics in UKA while referencing the normal knee kinematics reported in our previous study.

Methods

We analyzed the knee kinematics in 17 knees (14 patients) undergoing UKA via a three-dimensional to two-dimensional registration technique employing femoral condylar translation and femoral axial rotation. The pre- and postoperative knee kinematics during squat motion were evaluated in the same subjects, employing consistent evaluation parameters.

Results

On average, both pre- and postoperative knee kinematics in the range 10–100° of knee flexion demonstrated near-consistent femoral external rotation and anterior translation of the medial condyle and posterior translation of the lateral condyle. However, the mean femoral external rotation angle and the posterior translation of the lateral condyle postoperatively were significantly smaller than the values observed preoperatively.

Discussion

Although the patterns of preoperative knee motion were similar to those seen in normal knees, the magnitude of this motion varied widely between patients, so it was not necessarily representative of normal knees. These variations may be due to the varying degrees of arthritic changes caused by osteoarthritis. Although the patterns of knee kinematics were largely maintained by the UKA procedure, the causes of the significant reductions in the magnitude of motion upon performing the UKA procedure should be investigated in subsequent studies with a larger number of patients.

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Acknowledgments

This study would have been impossible without the cooperation of the Department of Radiology, Niigata Medical Center and Niigata University Hospital. The authors would like to thank all staff members of the department. The authors would also like to thank all staff members of LEXI Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, for their technical support, and Drs. Munenori Matsueda and Satoshi Watanabe for their support.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Niigata Medical Center, 3-27-11 Kobari, Nishi-ku, Niigata, Niigata, 950-2022, Japan

    Tomoharu Mochizuki, Takashi Sato & Yoshio Koga

  2. Division of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Regenerative and Transplant Medicine, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Niigata, Japan

    Osamu Tanifuji, Hiroshi Yamagiwa & Naoto Endo

  3. Department of Health Sciences, Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata, Japan

    Kouichi Kobayashi

  4. Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Institute for Research Promotion, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan

    Go Omori

Authors
  1. Tomoharu Mochizuki
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  2. Takashi Sato
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  3. Osamu Tanifuji
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  4. Kouichi Kobayashi
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  5. Yoshio Koga
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  6. Hiroshi Yamagiwa
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  7. Go Omori
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  8. Naoto Endo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takashi Sato.

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Mochizuki, T., Sato, T., Tanifuji, O. et al. In vivo pre- and postoperative three-dimensional knee kinematics in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. J Orthop Sci 18, 54–60 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-012-0322-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-012-0322-9

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