The Effect of Lateral Retinacular Peeling in Total Knee Arthroplasty

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate if a lateral retinacular peeling helped decrease the amount of lateral patellar tilt in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The lateral tilt angles were measured in tangential radiographs made preoperatively and postoperatively, with the knee in 100 degrees of flexion, in an earlier series of 38 TKAs(Group 1) and a series of 53 TKAs (Group 2) that included lateral retinacular peel and partial facetectomy. RESULTS: The mean preoperative patellar tilt angle was 9.1+/-4.5 degrees in the group 1 and 9.5+/-5.2 degrees in the group 2. The mean postoperative patellar tilt angle was 12.8 +/-6.2 and 11.0+/-7.1 degrees, respectively. The implant tilt angle was 6.3+/-7.3 and 5.5+/-6.1 degrees, respectively. The differences between two groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The patella would tilt laterally following total knee arthroplasty. A lateral retinacular peeling had no discernible effect on the postoperative lateral tilt of the resurfaced patella.