Sex, age, and annual incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty: a university affiliated hospital survey of 3118 Chinese patients / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>In recent years, the number of patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty in China has rapidly increased. However, the incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sex, age and, annual incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty based on 3118 Chinese patients who underwent the procedure during the period of 2000 - 2011.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Total knee arthroplasties were performed on 511 males and 2607 females in our hospital during the period of 2000 - 2011. The sex, age, and annual incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty were evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The annual incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty increased from 35 knees in 2000 to 681 knees in 2011. The average annual percentage increase in incidence was 33.2%. Females accounted for 83.2% of the patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty. In both males and females, the highest incidence was observed in the group aged 65 - 74 years.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This study demonstrated a rapid increase in the incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty in our Chinese study population. The sex and age incidence of primary total knee arthroplasty in our study population differed from those reported in Western populations.</p>

Second-look arthroscopic evaluation of the articular cartilage after primary single-bundle and double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Several reports have shown the progression of articular cartilage degeneration after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. No report has been published about the cartilage comparing changes after single-bundle (SB) and double-bundle (DB) ACL reconstructions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the articular cartilage changes after SB and DB ACL reconstructions by second-look arthroscopy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety-nine patients who received arthroscopic ACL reconstruction were retrospectively reviewed at an average of 14 months after reconstruction, 58 patients underwent SB ACL reconstruction and 41 patients underwent DB ACL reconstruction. Hamstring tendon autografts were used in all patients. Second-look arthroscopy was done in conjunction with the tibial staple fixation removal at least one year after the initial ACL reconstruction. Arthroscopic evaluation and grading of the articular cartilage degeneration for all patients were performed at the initial ACL reconstruction, and at the second-look arthroscopy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The average cartilage degeneration at the patellofemoral joint (PFJ) was found significantly worsened after both SB and DB ACL reconstructions. This worsening were not seen at medial tibiofemoral joint (TFJ) and lateral TFJ. Grade II cartilage damage was the most common. At second-look arthroscopy, the average patellar cartilage degeneration was 1.14 ± 0.14 (at first look 0.52 ± 0.11) for the SB group, and 1.22 ± 0.15 (at first look 0.56 ± 0.12) for the DB group. The average trochlear cartilage degeneration was 1.05 ± 0.16 (at fist look 0.10 ± 0.06) and 0.66 ± 0.17 (at fist look 0.17 ± 0.09), respectively. The average patellar cartilage degeneration showed no significant difference in both groups. However, the average trochlea cartilage degeneration in DB group was significantly less than in SB group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Patellofemoral cartilage degeneration continued to aggravate after ACL reconstruction. DB ACL reconstruction could significantly decrease the trochlea cartilage degeneration compared with SB ACL reconstruction.</p>

Comparative study on early period of recovery between minimally invasive surgery total knee arthroplasty and minimally invasive surgery-quadriceps sparing total knee arthroplasty in Chinese patients / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Different kinds of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures have now been used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Compared with traditional TKA procedure with a long skin incision, clinical studies showed MIS procedures had some advantages. Quadriceps sparing (QS) procedures are the most minimally invasive MIS procedure until now. This study was aimed to find the insertion types for Chinese patients' vastus medialis and if the QS procedure had some advantages in patients' early recovery.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Between February 2006 and May 2007, 120 consecutive patients underwent unilateral primary TKA under general anesthesia, among whom 14 patients were lost to follow-up, the remaining 106 cases were enrolled in this study. Among the 106 cases there were 85 right knees, 21 left knees (15 men and 91 women, with a mean age of 65.1+/-7.4 years); osteoarthritis in 97 patients (91.5%) and rheumatoid arthritis in 9 patients (8.5%). MIS TKA was performed in 49 cases (MIS TKA group), while MIS-QS TKA in 57 cases (MIS-QS TKA group). During the operation, the type I, II and III insertions of the vastus medialis for all patients were recorded. Each knee was rated post-operatively according to the Hospital of Special Surgery (HSS) scoring system. Clinical follow-up was undertaken at 1 week, 2, 6, 12 and 24 weeks. Operating time and complications were recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups for gender distribution, age, left or right knee incidence, pre-operative diagnosis, incidence of varus or valgus deformity. Of the 106 cases there was 1 (0.9%) case with a type I insertion of the vastus medialis, 4 (3.8%) cases with type II insertions, 101 (95.3%) cases with type III insertions. The HSS scoring was significantly different between the MIS-QS TKA group and MIS TKA group within the first two weeks post operation. From 2 weeks later to 24 weeks, no significant difference was found. The average operating time was (53.3+/-12.4) minutes in the MIS TKA group and (64.1+/-15.1) minutes in the MIS-QS TKA group (P<0.001). In the MIS-QS TKA group, 1 patient had delayed healing of the partial skin incision (1.8%). No other complications were found in either group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Although most of the Chinese patients had type III insertions of the vastus medialis, the MIS-QS TKA procedure showed less injury to the quadriceps than the standard MIS TKA and this could contribute to the earlier recovery of the patients. But a shorter skin incision and more tension on the skin may also lead to more skin complications.</p>