The medial gap is a reliable indicator for intraoperative soft tissue balancing in posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate soft tissue balance and accurate alignment are important for successful total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, the optimal technique for establishing and measuring soft tissue balancing remains unclear. The aim of this study was to analyze the intraoperative medial and lateral gap pattern using digital knee balancer in posterior-stabilized (PS) TKA. METHODS: This study involved 55 patients with medial osteoarthritis who underwent a primary TKA using an image-free navigation system. The extension gap and the flexion gap at 90° knee flexion were assessed using an offset seesaw-type digital balancer. Continuous joint distraction force from 10 lb to 60 lb was applied. Medial gap, lateral gap, and varus angle were measured. RESULTS: The medial bone gap difference between extension and flexion was constant regardless of the distraction force from 20 lb to 60 lb. The lateral bone gap was significantly greater than the medial bone gap in extension and flexion from 30 lb to 60 lb (P < 0.05). The varus angle changed depending on the distraction force, especially in flexion. The varus angle in flexion was significantly greater than that in extension from 40 lb to 60 lb (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The medial bone gap is a reliable indicator unaffected by the distraction force during surgery and is useful for adjusting the medial gap in extension and flexion appropriately to ensure medial stability in PS-TKA. The digital knee balancer and navigation system support both precise gap assessment and surgery.

Large osteochondral defect in the lateral femoral condyle reconstructed by Atelocollagen-associated autologous chondrocyte implantation combined with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: Articular surface damage commonly associated with rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Large osteochondral defect, which consists of a severe depression fracture and a large cartilage defect, need to be treated due to deformation of the articular surface as it can impact the clinical outcome of ACL reconstruction. Although autologous chondrocyte implantation is one of the useful options in such cases, it can be questioned whether the reconstruction of the ACL and osteochondral defect should be performed in one procedure alone. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 38-year-old male with a deep depression fracture extending to the edge of the lateral femoral condyle associated with ACL injury after twisting his right knee while skiing. The patient was successfully treated with tissue-engineered cartilage transplantation covered by the periosteum with an iliac bone graft combined with anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction. Histopathological examination of the transplanted cartilage taken at second-look arthroscopy showed a cartilage-like tissue in the middle to deep zone in which the extracellular matrix was largely stained with Safranin O. The patient was able to return to his previous level of skiing activity without any experience of knee pain. Magnetic resonance imaging at 4 years after surgery showed that the graft integrated to the border zone and subchondral bone. The operated knee showed negative Lachman test and had a full range of motion. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report of anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction with tissue-engineered cartilage transplantation and an iliac bone graft to restore the lateral edge of the femoral condyle.

In vivo kinematic analysis of posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty for the valgus knee operated by the gap-balancing technique.

BACKGROUND: Most in vivo kinematic studies of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) report on the varus knee. The objective of the present study was to evaluate in vivo kinematics of a posterior-stabilized fixed-bearing TKA operated on a valgus knee during knee bending in weight-bearing (WB) and non-weight-bearing (NWB). METHODS: A total of sixteen valgus knees in 12 cases that underwent TKA with Scorpio NRG PS knee prosthesis and that were operated on using the gap balancing technique were evaluated. We evaluated the in vivo kinematics of the knee using fluoroscopy and femorotibial translation relative to the tibial tray using a 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional registration technique. RESULTS: The average flexion angle was 111.3°±7.5° in WB and 114.9° ± 8.4° in NWB. The femoral component demonstrated a mean external rotation of 5.9° ± 5.8° in WB and 7.4° ± 5.2° in NWB. In WB and NWB, the femoral component showed a medial pivot pattern from 0° to midflexion and a bicondylar rollback pattern from midflexion to full flexion. The medial condyle moved similarly in the WB condition and in the NWB condition. The lateral condyle moved posteriorly at a slightly earlier angle during the WB condition than during the NWB condition. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that similar kinematics after TKA can be obtained with the gap balancing technique for the preoperative valgus deformity when compared to the kinematics of a normal knee, even though the magnitude of external rotation was small. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.

Reduction of initial tension in the in situ frozen anterior cruciate ligament.

The purposes of this study were to develop a new method to measure in situ tension in the anterior cruciate ligament, and to show degradation changes in the tension applied to the in situ frozen-thawed anterior cruciate ligament during a 12-week period postoperatively. Eighteen mature Beagles were used in the current study. Each dog had the in situ freeze and thaw treatment to its anterior cruciate ligament, and an initial tension of 20 N was applied to the anterior cruciate ligament. The in situ tension in the anterior cruciate ligament was measured immediately after surgery (n = 4) and at 6 and 12 weeks (n = 5, respectively) with a method developed specifically for this study. A commercially available force transducer, the utility and the validity of which were established in previous studies, was inserted into the anterior cruciate ligament, and the transducer was calibrated in situ using a tensile tester after sacrifice. The four remaining animals were used for histologic examinations. The average tension in the anterior cruciate ligament decreased from 19.1 N immediately after surgery to 14.2 N and 4.7 N at 6 and 12 weeks, respectively. There were significant differences among the times. At 12 weeks, histologically, degenerative changes were seen with asteroid-shaped cells and vacuoles in the anterior cruciate ligament. The current study showed that the high initial tension applied to the in situ frozen anterior cruciate ligament gradually decreased with time until 12 weeks.

Implantation sites and fiber diameters affect the rate of degradation in absorbable polydioxanone fibers.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to test the question of whether implantation sites and fiber diameters affect the rate of degradation in absorbable polydioxanone fibers. TYPE OF STUDY: Randomized trial. METHODS: Forty-eight mature rabbits were used. In the first study, using 24 rabbits, a 0.3-mm diameter polydioxanone fiber was implanted into the subcutaneous, intra-articular, and intramedullary sites. Six rabbits each were killed at 1, 2, 3, and 6 weeks after surgery. In the second study, the remaining 24 rabbits were divided into 2 groups of 12 animals each. In group I, a 0.3-mm diameter fiber was implanted into the intramedullary and subcutaneous sites. In group II, a 0.6-mm diameter fiber was implanted in the same manner. In each group, 6 rabbits were killed at 3 and 6 weeks. In each study, all fiber specimens underwent tensile testing to determine the material properties. We defined the percentage of the maximum load of each fiber specimen compared with the normal control value as the I/N ratio. RESULTS: In the first study, the maximum load and the stiffness of the fibers implanted into the intramedullary site were significantly lower than those of the fibers implanted into the other 2 sites at each period (P <.0001). In the second study, the I/N ratio of group I was significantly less than that of group II at each implanted site (P <.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Polydioxanone fiber implanted into the intramedullary site deteriorates more rapidly than that implanted into the subcutaneous and the intra-articular sites. Thin fibers deteriorate more rapidly than thick fibers. Therefore, the degradation of absorbable synthetic fibers intended for use in ligament reconstruction should be evaluated not only in the subcutaneous site but also in the intramedullary site using various diameter fibers.