Purpose: Very little is known about the use of combined surface cementation (only tibial tray) and mobile-bearing tibial components in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study was investigated whether the index combinations show satisfactory clinical outcomes after mobile-bearing TKA using posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-retaining meniscal-bearing (MB) and PCL-substituting rotating-platform (RP) TKA designed using different anteroposterior constraints.
Methods: This study is a retrospective evaluation of a prospective database. Five-year postoperative clinical outcomes were assessed in 127 patients (127 knees) and 122 patients (122 knees) who underwent TKA with an MB and RP design, respectively. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, range of motion, loosening/radiolucency, and subsidence around both components were evaluated in the two designs.
Results: The postoperative median HSS score was excellent in both the MB and RP groups (93 and 92, respectively). Postoperative flexion and extension did not differ between the two designs. Neither design showed > 2-mm radiolucencies raising concern for femoral or tibial implant stability. Five (2%) of 249 patients (5 knees) (MB, n = 4; RP, n = 1) showed detectable subsidence of the tibial component. However, no revision TKA had been performed by the 5-year follow-up because no patients had complaints severe enough to necessitate revision surgery.
Conclusions: Clinically good outcomes comparable with previous studies were obtained 5 years after mobile-bearing TKA with surface cementation using both MB and RP implant designs. Thus, equivalent mid-term clinical outcomes of the index combination can be obtained with other implant designs and cementation techniques.
Level of evidence: Level II.
Keywords: Clinical outcomes; Mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty; Radiolucency; Subsidence; Surface cementation.