Combining kinematic alignment and medial stabilized design in total knee arthroplasty: Basic rationale and preliminary clinical evidences

Objective: kinematic alignment technique has been recently described as a new surgical procedure able to restore the patient specific physiological knee alignment; furthermore, new prosthesis, as medial stabilized (MS) third generation TKA, were designed to better reproduce the anatomical shape of the knee. In this prospective study, the authors evaluated early clinical improvement and radiological outcomes of patients having pre-operative small coronal limb deformity underwent TKA using a surgical technique combining a restricted kinematic alignment with medial stabilized polyethylene insert. Methods: Fifteen consecutive patients (8 female and 7 male) scheduled for a total knee replacement have been enrolled for this study and treated using a modern third generation knee implant with a medial congruent tibial polyethylene. Clinical improvements have been assessed pre-operatively and at 6 and 12 months Follow up (FU) using the Oxford knee Score (OKS)(Ishikawa et al., Jun. 2015) 12 the Knee Society Score (KSS)(Pinskerova and et al., Aug. 2004) 13 and Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) as patient reported outcomes measurement system (PROMs). A radiological evaluation was made by a single physician at 6 months. Results: Average improvement in OKS was from 20.2 (SD 5.5) pre-operatively to 41.3 (SD 2.1) at the final FU. KSS pain/motion improved with a mean score from 40.1 (SD 4.0) pre-op to 89.1 (SD 6.3) while KSS function improved with an average score from 51.0 (SD 6.2) pre-op to 81.8 (SD 8.4) showing good to excellent results in all the knee treated. The mean FJS at 6 months follow up was 75.1 (SD 4.2) improving to 79.3 (SD 3.3) at one year FU. Post-operative XR showing an average varus Hip-Knee-Ankle (HKA) angle of 178.8 degrees (range from 176 degrees to 182 degrees, SD 2,3 degrees); We found no statistically significant difference between pre-operative and post-operative HKA (p < 0,05). Conclusion: The current authors assumed appropriate to combine a modern TKA implant designed replicating the anatomical shape of the native knee with a surgical technique able to better reproduce the physiological, patient specific, knee biomechanics. Our findings suggest that combining MS implant with KA technique may results in better short-term functional results, helping the patient to forget their replaced joint and restoring their pre-arthritic quality of life.