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Introduction Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the most effective treatment of late osteoarthritis (OA) and is considered among the most successful surgical procedures in general. However, about 20% of patients remain dissatisfied. An important aspect of TKA is the proper choice of implant type – posterior stabilized (PS) or cruciate retaining (CR). Both have their indications for use based on intraoperative functional examination, but no objective radiological criteria have yet been developed. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the posterior subluxation of the tibia on preoperative radiograms and implant type used. Material and methods A series of 52 patients undergoing TKA were included in the study. All patients were over 50 years old, had clinically and radiologically confirmed primary OA of grade IV on the Kellgren-Lawrence scale and were undergoing a primary total knee replacement (TKR) with a PS or CR design. Preoperative lateral radiographs were analysed retrospectively. The tibial translation ratio was calculated as a percentage of subluxation in the length of the tibial plateau. Results There were no significant differences between implant types in regard to investigated parameters. However, there was a significant difference between the groups CR and PS in regard to age (68.5 [60.0–72.0] vs. 72.5 [68.0–75.0], p = 0.006). Conclusions This study revealed that preoperative tibial translation does not significantly correlate with the choice of implant type and so probably not with posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) function and efficiency either. Additionally, this study showed that PCL insufficiency is related to the age of the patients, because of the more frequent choice of the PS implant type for the surgery in older patients than in the case of the CR implant type.

Introduction Fracture of the proximal femur is common in elderly patients, in fact threatening their lives. Age-related sarcopenia may be involved in the imbalance resulting in the injury. Handy and readily accessible biochemical tests would be useful to assess the musculoskeletal system condition in daily practice. The aim of the study was to determine whether there is any relation between muscle decay and fracture of the proximal femur and to assess bone quality in elderly patients. Material and methods In the study 22 patients who represented the treatment group were hospitalized due to proximal femur fracture. Eighteen patients from the control group with no fracture in their history were admitted to the Internal Medicine Department. Anyone treated for osteoporosis, immune disease affecting protein balance, neoplasm, mental illness, heart failure, or myocardial infarction was excluded from the study. In every case a blood sample from an elbow vein was drawn, collected in EDTA-K2 tubes, and then centrifuged to separate plasma from the whole blood. Subsequently, the concentrations of C-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and creatine kinase (CK) in plasma were determined using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results The CK plasma concentration differed between the patient groups (p = 0.011). The SHBG plasma concentration was significantly higher in the treatment group (p = 0.006), whereas a slight difference in CTX-I plasma concentration between the groups was found (p = 0.038). No significant correlations between plasma CK, SHBG or CTX-I were found (p > 0.05). Conclusions Creatine kinase is actually not an appropriate marker for the clinical assessment of muscle tissue quality in patients with or at risk of proximal femur fracture. Analyzing the quality of bone tissue, we can conclude it was poorer in patients with proximal femur fracture than in the control group.

Introduction Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is nowadays considered as the most effective treatment option for end-stage hip osteoarthritis (OA) and one of the most successful orthopedic procedures. Precise reproduction of the center of rotation (COR) is among the most important aspects of recreating native hip biomechanics after THA as it is strictly related to muscle tension and force distribution within the hip joint. Both vertical and horizontal shift in cup positioning and COR restoration are commonly observed radiological signs corresponding with lesser functional outcome. The aim of this study was to assess whether the superior border of the native acetabulum morphology has an impact on cup positioning and COR restoration in patients undergoing THA as treatment of primary OA of the hip. Material and methods A cohort of 150 consecutive patients with diagnosis of end-stage primary hip OA who underwent THA via an anterolateral approach with the same implant in 2021 was analyzed retrospectively. Standard standing pelvic X-rays were performed pre- and postopera- tively and appropriate measurements were taken. Several radiological parameters on obtained X-rays were assessed. Statistical analysis of all the measurements was performed. Results There was a statistically significant positive weak correlation between cup offset and ace- tabular roof angle ( rs = 0.25, p = 0.002). There were statistically insignificant positive correlations between acetabular roof angle and COR restoration ( rs = 0.14, p = 0.097), acetabular roof angle and total offset ( rs = 0.087, p = 0.29) and a negative correlation between acetabular roof angle and femoral offset ( rs = 0.071, p = 0.39). Conclusions The present study revealed that preoperative acetabular roof angle influences the positioning of the prosthetic cup in the transverse axis. There also seems to be a correlation between the acetabular roof angle and COR restoration, but its significance needs further evaluation. Surgeons could use this knowledge to preoperatively assess the risk of cup malposition and adjust their technique during the THA procedure with probable improvement of hip function.

Abstract Background Total knee replacement (TKR) is considered one of the most common elective orthopaedic procedures. The main focus of TKR is to offer patient's symptomatic relief from persistent knee pain. To achieve this it is crucial to restore joint biomechanics by performing proper bone cuts. Some surgeons favor the measured resection technique, others prefer gap balancing technique. The researchers of the presented study performed TKR using these two techniques. The aim of this study was to compare the postoperative change in joint line and posterior condylar offset after TKR with use of anatomic knee design implants between gap balancing and measured resection techniques. Methods Two hundred twenty-five X-rays of patients who underwent TKR performed by a single surgeon between 2020 and 2021 were analyzed. The first group of patients (101) was operated with the use of gap balancing technique and the second group (124) was operated with the use of measured resection technique. Patients included in the study were > 50 years of age, had confirmed primary knee osteoarthritis, underwent primary TKR with a PS (posterior stabilized) knee implants without patella resurfacing and had at least 15 degree flexion contracture. T-student test and U Mann–Whitney test were used in statistical analysis of results, according to the normality of distribution examined with the Shapiro–Wilk test. Post-hoc analysis was performed using the Dwass-Steel-Crichtlow-Fligner test (DSCF). Results The postoperative analysis showed a significantly elevated joint line level in the gap balancing group (-2.6 ± 4.1 vs -0.7 ± 4.8, p 2 mm comparing to measured resection technique. The difference between pre- and postoperative PCO (posterior condylar offset) and PCOR (posterior condylar offset ratio) results had no significant differences (100.8 ± 11.8 vs 101 ± 12.5, p > 0.05) between the groups. Conclusions The results of the study suggest that when it comes to restoring joint line level measured resection technique seems to be superior in comparison to the gap balancing technique. What is more, results indicate measured resection is equal in terms of restoring posterior condylar offset to the gap balancing technique. Trial registration NCT04164147, date of registration: November 14, 2019.

Introduction Femoral neck fracture is one of the most common orthopaedic traumas affecting the elderly population. The standard treatment method is hip hemiarthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty. In hip hemiprostheses surgeons mainly have to reconstruct the femoral offset and limbs’ length to obtain the correct gait biomechanics and a satisfactory surgical outcome. The aim of this study is to examine the radiological results of patients after hip hemiarthroplasty for femoral neck fracture and to evaluate the reconstruction of the femoral offset using standard neck angle stems. Material and methods A consecutive series of 97 patients diagnosed with femoral neck fracture treated with a hip hemiprosthesis between 2017 and 2021 was identified and met the inclusion criteria. On preoperative images, the neck-shaft angle and the femoral offset on the healthy limb were measured. The femoral offset of the operated limb was measured on the postoperative X-rays. Results There was a significant positive moderate correlation between neck-shaft angle and femoral offset change (r = 0.568, p < 0.0001). There was a statistically significant difference between femoral offset change and neck-shaft angle (24:52 vs. 14:7, p = 0.005). This means that in patients with coxa vara the change in femoral offset was more often < –5 mm. Less than half of operated patients had the femoral offset restored within a safe range (between –5 and 5 mm). Conclusions Our study proved that it is sometimes hard to achieve femoral offset within a safe range while performing hip hemiarthroplasty in patients with coxa vara. The topic of using high offset stems in partial hip arthroplasty has not been thoroughly researched worldwide. However, taking into account the results of our study, during a hip hemiarthroplasty the usage of high offset stems for varus hips should be considered in order to improve the clinical outcome and improve patients’ quality of life and functioning.

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is considered to be highly successful in treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis. There are multiple implant designs available on the market, and it is difficult to point which one is the best. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and functional outcomes and gait pattern after TKA with the use of fixed-bearing medial pivot (K-Mod) vs multi-radius design (NexGen) implants and to compare them to norms for healthy patients with no osteoarthritis or arthroplasty procedure in anamnesis. Methods: A group of 30 patients who received the medial pivot (MP) TKA and 33 patients who received the posterior-stabilized (PS) TKA between May and August of 2018 were included. All surgeries were performed in the level III academic hospital by a single surgeon. Every patient was asked to fulfill the The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively. Standard X-ray, biomechanical gait analysis using a motion capture system, and statistical analysis were performed at 2 years postoperatively. Results: A total of 28 patients from either MP cohort (93%) or PS (85%) matched-control cohort completed the whole assessment at the final follow-up. There were statistically significant differences in a few gait parameters such as shorter mean step length both in operated and healthy limb, lower mean gait velocity, and lower mean walking cadence than the norm in both MP and PS groups. As to the WOMAC score, there was statistically significant improvement in both groups comparing preoperative and postoperative outcomes. Nevertheless, in the MP group, there was a significantly higher score, indicating worse outcomes, in the stiffness part of the WOMAC score than in the PS group. No significant differences were found between groups during radiological evaluation. Conclusions: There were satisfying and promising clinical, radiographic, and patient-reported outcomes in both MP and PS groups with very little difference in relation to norm values. However, both implants failed in fully restoring gait patterns similar to the healthy limb of the same patient.

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is considered the most efficient treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis. There is an ongoing debate about proper implant designs and articulation types. One of the considered causes of unsatisfactory outcome and patients’ dissatisfaction is femoral or tibial component overhanging, which can lead to chronic knee pain and restricted motion. The aim of this study is to compare radiological outcomes of TKA using an anatomic PERSONA Posterior-Stabilized (PS) knee design with its nonanatomic predecessor, the NexGen LPS. Methods: A group of 39 patients who received the PERSONA PS system and 33 patients who received the NexGen LPS was included. PERSONA patients were matched to NexGen patients using a 0.1 propensity score threshold with priority given to exact matches. Anteroposterior, lateral, and long-leg radiographs were taken preoperatively and at 6 weeks postoperatively to perform radiological and statistical analysis. Results: The PERSONA subgroup had statistically higher posterior condylar offset. There is no statistically significant difference in posterior condylar offset ratio. There were less cases of femoral notching, femoral overhang, and placing tibial baseplate in the medial overhang in the PERSONA PS subgroup than in the NexGen subgroup (each statistically significant). Occurrence of tibial underhang was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Radiological assessment in short-term follow-up showed excellent results for PERSONA knee design with better fit to native femur and tibia. In comparison to its predecessor, it also spares more bone tissue. As the aforementioned parameters are risk factors of lesser clinical outcomes, the PERSONA design gives high hopes for improvement of TKA satisfaction rate.

Background and Objectives: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the most effective treatment method for end-stage osteoarthritis. One of the most important aspects of this surgery is adequate implant positioning, as it guarantees the desired outcome of restoring limb biomechanics. Surgical technique is being continuously improved along with hardware development. There are two novel devices designed to help establish proper femoral component rotation: soft-tissue tensor and robotic–assisted TKA (RATKA). This study compared the femoral component rotation achieved with the use of three methods: RATKA, soft tissue tensioner and the conventional measured-resection technique, all of them utilizing anatomical design prosthesis components. Materials and Methods: A total of 139 patients diagnosed with end-stage osteoarthritis underwent total knee arthroplasty between December 2020 and June 2021. After the surgery, they were divided into three groups depending on procedure technique and implant type: Persona (Zimmer Biomet) + Fuzion Balancer, RATKA + Journey II BCS or conventional TKA + Persona/Journey. Postoperatively, a computed tomography examination was performed in order to measure femoral component rotation. All three groups were compared independently during statistical analysis. Fisher’s exact, Kruskal–Wallis and Dwass–Steel–Crichtlow–Fligner tests were used for particular calculations. Results: Statistically significant differences in femoral component rotation between groups were noticed. However, in terms of values other than 0° in external rotation, no significant variance was revealed. Conclusions: Additional total knee arthroplasty instruments seem to improve the outcomes of the surgery, providing better component positioning than in the conventional measured-resection technique based only on bone landmarks.