Alternative technique for knee manipulation under anesthesia

Arthroplast Today. 2017 Dec 6;4(4):452-453. doi: 10.1016/j.artd.2017.07.006. eCollection 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Total knee arthroplasty is a successful surgery for the majority of patients with osteoarthrosis of the knee. Approximately 5% of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty experience loss of motion or arthrofibrosis. Manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) is generally indicated for patients who do not achieve >90° of flexion by 6-12 weeks postoperatively. Complications from MUA are rare but can be devastating. We describe a novel technique for MUA with no reported major complications in our review of 78 patients. The average flexion improved from 80.0 (±3.8) before manipulation to 115.4 (±2.1) after manipulation. There were no major complications including fracture or extensor mechanism injury.

Keywords: Arthrofibrosis; Manipulation under anesthesia; Post operative stiffness; Total knee complications; Total knee manipulation.