Patellar resurfacing as a second stage procedure for persistent anterior knee pain after primary total knee arthroplasty

Purpose

Knee pain after total knee arthroplasty may be caused by an unresurfaced patella. Secondary isolated resurfacing of the previously unresurfaced patella in total knee arthroplasty remains controversial. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the outcome after patellar resurfacing as a second stage procedure.

Methods

The study included 22 patients (13 female/nine male) who underwent resurfacing of the patella with a mean follow-up of 61.8?±?39.2 months. The mean age of the patients was 60?±?9.7 years at the time of operation. The average period between total knee arthroplasty and patellar resurfacing was 26.3?±?15.2 months. The patient’s subjective satisfaction was assessed by a custom-made questionnaire.

Results

The mean Knee Society Score improved significantly from 60.1?±?8.3 to 77.0?±?6.3 (p?=?0.0063). The mean functional score also improved significantly from 42.7?±?2.3 to 60.2?±?3.9 (p?=?0.001). Three patients (13.6%) needed further operative revision.

Conclusions

Although clinical scores showed significant improvement some patients continued to have pain and remained dissatisfied without detecting a specific reason. Further studies are needed to better elucidate the benefit of patellar resurfacing as second stage procedure.