Enhanced conventional method is as precise as navigation for distal femur resection during total knee replacement: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the accuracy of distal femoral cut and femoral component placement in the coronal plane with the enhanced conventional technique when compared to computer navigation during total knee replacement (TKR). Methods: In total, 475 total knee arthroplasties (TKA) were analyzed (200 optimized conventional TKAs and 275 navigated TKAs) for postoperative mechanical alignment or hip-knee-ankle angle and femoral component coronal alignment and compared between the two groups Results: Mean femoral component coronal alignment was not significantly different (p=0.35) when navigation and enhanced conventional groups were compared. There was no significant difference in the mean femoral component coronal alignment between knees with a valgus correction angle (VCA) <5° (p=0.28), knees with VCA 5°-7° (p=0.48) and knees with >7° (p=0.09). No significant difference was noted in the mean femoral component coronal alignment between knees with varus deformity <10° (p=0.19), varus deformity 10°-20° (p=0.72) and valgus deformity (p=0.35). Conclusions: Using the enhanced conventional technique in each patient to perform distal femoral cut during total knee arthroplasty can help achieve the coronal alignment of the femoral component comparable to navigation technique. Registration: UMIN-CTR ID UMIN000036204.