Improving radiographic patello-femoral tracking in total knee arthroplasty with the use of a flexion spacer: a case-control study.

purposeThe purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a flexion spacer in the clinical and radiological outcomes of patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and to compare these patients to a group of patients subjected to the same type of surgery but without the use of a flexion spacer. It was hypothesized that patients who underwent TKA using a flexion spacer would have better clinical and radiological outcomes than those without a flexion spacer in both short- and medium-term follow-ups.

methodsA consecutive series of patients undergoing TKA were included, yielding 20 patients in the study group. The control group was identified from the consultant database of the senior author, yielding 21 patients who underwent the same operation. All 41 patients received a Vanguard Knee System (Zimmer-Biomet, Warsaw, Indiana, USA). Cases were defined as those patients who had undergone TKA using a flexion spacer device for gap balancing; controls were defined as patients who had undergone TKA without the support of a flexion spacer device. Patients were clinically and radiographically evaluated at two consecutive follow-ups: T

resultsNo statistically significant clinical differences were found between the two groups at T

conclusionsThe current study demonstrates that the use of a flexion spacer significantly improves radiographic patello-femoral tracking, although no significant clinical differences were found between the two groups. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Case-control study, level III.