Similar outcomes between ultracongruent and posterior-stabilized insert in total knee arthroplasty: A propensity score-matched analysis

Purpose: (1) To compare postoperative range of motion (ROM), stability, and clinical outcomes between fixed-bearing posterior-stabilized (PS) and ultracongruent (UC). (2) The effect of postoperative stability on ROM and clinical outcomes was also evaluated in both designs. Materials and methods: Propensity score matching was conducted for age, gender, body mass index, preoperative ROM, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) index, Knee Society (KS) scores, hip–knee–ankle (HKA) alignment, and follow-up period. Two hundred patients (100 PS and 100 UC) were enrolled. Preoperative and final follow-up outcomes including postoperative ROM, anteroposterior (AP) stability (good, fair, and poor), WOMAC index, and KS scores were compared. Then, postoperative outcomes compared between the PS and UC. We also analyzed if AP stability was associated with the postoperative outcomes in both implant designs. Results: In both groups, ROM and clinical outcomes of final follow-up showed improvement than preoperation. Statistical significance was not determined between the PS and UC groups in terms of postoperative ROM (PS vs. UC, 134.6° vs. 133.4°, p = 0.13), stability (good/fair/poor, 91/9/0 vs. 84/14/0, p = 0.376), WOMAC index, KS scores, and outliers of HKA alignment (15% vs. 10%, p = 0.393). “Fair” stability showed inferior KS scores but greater ROM than “good” stability in both designs. Conclusion: TKA with UC insert provided similar ROM, AP stability, and clinical outcomes when compared to PS insert. In both designs, greater postoperative ROM was found but inferior clinical outcomes were found when TKA resulted in fair stability instead of good stability. Level of evidence III: Retrospective comparative study.