Do Gender Knee Implants Provide Better Outcomes?

- Study finds gender-specific total knee prostheses provide no clinical benefits compared to standard prostheses in women

- For information about knee replacement surgery in Argentina please don’t hesitate to contact Sublimis.

Rosemont, IL – A gender-specific total knee prosthesis was developed to more closely match the anatomy of the female knee, aiming to be a better fit resulting in better outcomes for women. However, a recent study in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) found that 85 women who received a gender-specific implant in one knee and a standard prosthesis in the other knee found no clinical benefits of the gender-specific knee.

“We conducted this study to investigate whether women derive less benefit, or perhaps less predictable benefit, from total knee replacement using a standard conventional total knee implant,” said Young-Hoo Kim, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon and lead author of the study.

After receiving knee implants – one gender-specific and one standard prosthesis – the women were assessed for at least two years after surgery. The knees with the gender-specific implant and the knees with the standard implant had similar knee scores and similar range of motion while lying down (125° for the knees with standard implants and 126° for the knees with gender-specific implants). All patients except three were able to bend their knees at least 90°.

Additionally, patient satisfaction with the implants was similar (8.3 points for the standard implants and 8.1 points for the gender-specific implants). A rating of 6 to 8 meant “satisfied,” and a rating of 9 to 10 meant “fully satisfied.”

Important findings included:

* The majority of women in the study (71 females or 84 percent) had no preference between the two implants,
* eight women (9 percent) preferred the standard prosthesis, and
* six (7 percent) preferred the gender-specific prosthesis.

Knee Implant. Source: AAOS.org

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A Sporting Chance for Active Total Knee Replacement Patients

Study finds implant durability not affected by high-impact sports participation

New Orleans, LA – Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients may be able to participate in high-impact sports without increasing risk of early implant failure, according to a new study presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). In addition, the authors observed better clinical scores in the group of patients who participated in activities discouraged by the Knee Society (KS) than those of the control group.

The Knee Society recommends TKA patients avoid activities that cause high stress loads on the implant and may increase the risk of early failure. Such activities include high-impact aerobics, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, jogging and power lifting, among others.

“Recent studies have shown that as many as one in six total knee replacement patients participate in non-recommended activities,” said Sebastian Parratte, M.D., PhD, an orthopaedic surgeon from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and the Aix-Marseille University, Center for Arthritis Surgery, Hospital Sainte-Marguerite in Marseille, France. “This study offers some reassurance to those patients who choose to return to an active lifestyle after surgery.”

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Knee Replacement in Elderly Patients Shown to Improve Balance

Multiple benefits to surgery reported for patients with advanced osteoarthritis

New Orleans, LA – Total knee replacement (TKR) successfully relieves pain and improves function in patients with advanced knee arthritis, according to a study presented today at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). The surgery also significantly improves dynamic balance among elderly patients.

Impaired balance and increased tendency to fall are common complaints among the elderly suffering from severe osteoarthritis (worn cartilage). The purpose of the study was to determine whether TKR had any effects on balance measures, in correlation with functional balance and quality of life. This is especially important because falls are the leading cause of injury for senior adults in the U.S., and hip fractures that result from falls can be lethal for elderly patients.

“Balance is critical to the elderly, especially those with knee problems. This study reinforced our hypothesis about how an osteoarthritic patient’s function is compromised not only due to pain, but also by balance,” said Leonid Kandel, MD, study author and orthopaedic surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.

The study examined 63 patients, with a mean age of 73, who had total knee replacements and participated in follow-up evaluations after one year. The study measured accurately static and dynamic balance with a new computerized system called the Balance Master. The study found:

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New Study Finds Low Mortality Risk Following Knee and Hip Replacement

Risks Lower 26 Days After Surgery

Rosemont, IL – Total hip and total knee replacement surgeries are highly successful and very common procedures for people experiencing pain associated with degenerative joints. With a new hip or knee, and postoperative care prescribed by their doctors, most patients are able to regain a more active lifestyle with considerably less pain.

According to a new study published in the January 2010 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), the risk of early postoperative mortality – or death following surgery — was slightly increased for the first 26 days after the elective surgery. The risk of mortality was estimated to be 0.1 percent.

The size of the study and the precise statistical tools used show the increase in early postoperative mortality was highest immediately after the operation. Then, 26 days after the surgery, the increased risk of death was negligible.

“Previous studies suggesting that increased mortality exists for as long as 60 or 90 days post hip or knee replacement surgery may be wrong,” said lead author of the study, Stein Atle Lie, PhD, MSc and professor in the Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Bergen, Norway who led the study with colleagues from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register at the Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. “We believe the risk is tied to a much shorter duration.”

The study included data on 81,856 patients with a total knee replacement and 106,254 patients with a total hip replacement from the Australian Orthopaedic Joint Replacement Registry and the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register. Only patients between 50 and 80 years of age with osteoarthritis were included.

The study found the most important risk factors for increased early postoperative mortality were:

* Male gender; and
* Age, older than 70 years old.

“This very low postoperative mortality after hip and knee replacements should be reassuring for patients considering these surgeries,” explains study co-author Lars B. Engesaeter, MD, PhD and Head of Norwegian Arthroplasty Register, Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway.

People considering hip or knee replacement should talk to their orthopaedic surgeon about any added risk in relation to their age and follow recovery guidelines closely. Other questions to consider prior to surgery can be found at www.orthoinfo.org.

“We conducted this study to help people contemplating hip or knee replacement,” continues Dr. Lie. “As with all surgeries, there is some increased risk of postoperative mortality. However, we were pleased to find the mortality rate is so minimal — less than one percent — following hip and knee replacements.”

Source: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

For more information about hip and knee replacements or any other orthopaedic procedure please feel free to contact us that Doctor Juan Sanchez Pulgar will be glad to help you.