A June 2022 paper (1) discussed the problems of knee implant migration issues and altered kinematics. The study’s authors noted that knee implant migration have been thought to impact patient-reported outcome measures and postoperative patient satisfaction. In this study comparing satisfied and dissatisfied total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients, the researchers hypothesized that dissatisfied patients will have greater continuous implant migration and that there will be differences in joint kinematics, objective functional measurements, and patient-reported outcome measures between satisfied and dissatisfied patients. What they found was no differences in tibial (shin bone) component migration or objectively measured function between satisfied and dissatisfied patients. Functionally dissatisfied patients had more anteriorly (moved to the front) positioned contact on the lateral (lower thigh bone) condyle in early flexion and reported more pain and unmet expectations. These findings suggest that improving the functional satisfaction of TKA requires restoration of kinematics in early flexion and management of patient’s pain and expectations.
1 Broberg JS, Naudie DD, Lanting BA, Howard JL, Vasarhelyi EM, Teeter MG. Patient and Implant Performance of Satisfied and Dissatisfied Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients. The Journal of Arthroplasty. 2022 Jun 1;37(6):S98-104.