Outcome after total knee arthroplasty with or without patellar resurfacing

Abstract

Background: Anterior knee pain is one of the most important nagging factors following ‘total knee arthroplasty’. It requires adequate redressal to avoid patient dissatisfaction, undue psychological stresses and inflated costs due to readmission and reoperation. Aims: To assess the functional outcome prospectively in total knee arthroplasty with or without patellar resurfacing. Materials and Methods: A prospective randomised study involving 25 patients undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) was carried out to study the outcome after TKA with patellar resurfacing (group I) and without patellar resurfacing (group II). The onlay surgical technique was used for patellar preparation, and a cemented all-polyethylene dome-shaped patellar button with three pegs was used for implantation. The Knee Society Score (KSS), Knee Functional Score (KFS) and visual analogue score were used for clinical assessment. Results: All outcomes were assessed after 1 year of follow-up in both the groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the group I and group II knees in the mean pain score (P < 0.001), 47.8 and 41.2, respectively, in the visual analogue score (P = 0.002), 0.76 and 1.56, respectively, and the mean KSS (P < 0.001), 90.28 and 84.16, respectively. However, there was no difference in the mean pre-operative and post-operative KFS between the two groups (P = 1.000), 45.00 (standard deviation [SD] ± 12.22) and 88.72 (SD ± 10.33), respectively. There was no statistical difference in the complication rates between the two groups. Conclusions: There is a significant improvement in anterior knee pain after patella resurfacing resulting in higher patient satisfaction.