Kinematics of medial osteoarthritic knees before and after posterior cruciate ligament retaining total knee arthroplasty

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a widely accepted surgical procedure for the treatment of patients with end‐stage osteoarthritis (OA). However, the function of the knee is not always fully recovered after TKA. We used a dual fluoroscopic imaging system to evaluate the in vivo kinematics of the knee with medial compartment OA before and after a posterior cruciate ligament‐retaining TKA (PCR‐TKA) during weight‐bearing knee flexion, and compared the results to those of normal knees. The OA knees displayed similar internal/external tibial rotation to normal knees. However, the OA knees had less overall posterior femoral translation relative to the tibia between 0° and 105° flexion and more varus knee rotation between 0° and 45° flexion, than in the normal knees. Additionally, in the OA knees the femur was located more medially than in the normal knees, particularly between 30° and 60° flexion. After PCR‐TKA, the knee kinematics were not restored to normal. The overall internal tibial rotation and posterior femoral translation between 0° and 105° knee flexion were dramatically reduced. Additionally, PCR‐TKA introduced an abnormal anterior femoral translation during early knee flexion, and the femur was located lateral to the tibia throughout weight‐bearing flexion. The data help understand the biomechanical functions of the knee with medial compartment OA before and after contemporary PCR‐TKA. They may also be useful for improvement of future prostheses designs and surgical techniques in treatment of knees with end‐stage OA. © 2010 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:40–46, 2011