ABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to review the issues regarding preoperative patient
expectations for total knee arthroplasty and whether or not these are fulfilled after
surgery. The demographics of the typical total knee arthroplasty patient are changing,
and the expectations regarding the outcome of the surgery have been changing as well.
Patients are younger, heavier, more active, and often come to the surgeon's office
with information provided via the Internet that may be inaccurate and/or misleading.
Many expect and assume that the operation will return the knee to “normal.” Traditional
outcomes measures used by orthopedic surgeons to determine the quality of the results
achieved are inadequate and do not take into account the higher expectations of current
patients. Various strategies have been developed to improve satisfaction after the
surgery. These include preoperative patient education, less invasive surgical approaches,
advances in prosthetic design, multimodal pain management, and aggressive postoperative
rehabilitation. Using these strategies will make preoperative expectations more realistic
and improve postoperative satisfaction.
KEYWORDS
Total knee - outcomes - satisfaction - expectations - range of motion
REFERENCES
- 1
Kurtz S, Ong K, Lau E, Mowat F, Halpern M.
Projections of primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty in the United States
from 2005 to 2030.
J Bone Joint Surg Am.
2007;
89
780-785
- 2
Scott C E, Howie C R, MacDonald D, Biant L C.
Predicting dissatisfaction following total knee replacement: A prospective study of
1217 patients.
J Bone Joint Surg Br.
2010;
92
1253-1258
- 3
Noble P C, Gordon M J, Weiss J M, Reddix R N, Conditt M A, Mathis K B.
Does total knee replacement restore normal knee function?.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2005;
(431)
157-165
- 4
Wylde V, Blom A W, Whitehouse S L, Taylor A H, Pattison G T, Bannister G C.
Patient-reported outcomes after total hip and knee arthroplasty: Comparison of midterm
results.
J Arthroplasty.
2009;
24
210-216
- 5
Bourne R B, Chesworth B, Davis A, Mahomed N, Charron K.
Comparing patient outcomes after THA and TKA: Is there a difference?.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2010;
468
542-546
- 6
Kwon S K, Kang Y G, Kim S J, Chang C B, Seong S C, Kim T K.
Correlations between commonly used clinical outcome scales and patient satisfaction
after total knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
2010;
25
1125-1130
- 7
Mason J B.
The new demands by patients in the modern era of total joint arthroplasty: A point
of view.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2008;
466
(1)
146-152
- 8
Healy W L, Sharma S, Schwartz B, Iorio R.
Athletic activity after total joint arthroplasty.
J Bone Joint Surg Am.
2008;
90
2245-2252
- 9
Noble P C, Conditt M A, Cook K F, Mathis K B.
The John Insall Award: Patient expectations affect satisfaction with total knee arthroplasty.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2006;
452
35-43
- 10
Bourne R B, Chesworth B M, Davis A M, Mahomed N N, Charron K D.
Patient satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty: Who is satisfied and who is not?.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2010;
468
57-63
- 11
Gandhi R, Davey J R, Mahomed N N.
Predicting patient dissatisfaction following joint replacement surgery.
J Rheumatol.
2008;
35
2415-2418
- 12
Scott C E, Howie C R, MacDonald D, Biant L C.
Predicting dissatisfaction following total knee replacement: A prospective study of
1217 patients.
J Bone Joint Surg Br.
2010;
92
1253-1258
- 13
Brander V, Gondek S, Martin E, Stulberg S D.
Pain and depression influence outcome 5 years after knee replacement surgery.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2007;
464
21-26
- 14
Mannion A F, Kämpfen S, Munzinger U, Kramers-de Quervain I.
The role of patient expectations in predicting outcome after total knee arthroplasty.
Arthritis Res Ther.
2009;
11
R139
- 15
Franklin P D, Li W, Ayers D C.
The Chitranjan Ranawat Award: Functional outcome after total knee replacement varies
with patient attributes.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2008;
466
2597-2604
- 16
Jacobson A F, Myerscough R P, Delambo K et al..
Patients' perspectives on total knee replacement.
Am J Nurs.
2008;
108
54-63; quiz 63–64
- 17
NIH Consensus Statement on total knee replacement.
NIH Consens State Sci Statements.
2003;
20
1-34
- 18
Walter F L, Bass N, Bock G, Markel D C.
Success of clinical pathways for total joint arthroplasty in a community hospital.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2007;
457
133-137
- 19
Kim T K, Chang C B, Kang Y G, Kim S J, Seong S C.
Causes and predictors of patient's dissatisfaction after uncomplicated total knee
arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
2009;
24
263-271
- 20
Tsuji S, Tomita T, Fujii M, Laskin R S, Yoshikawa H, Sugamoto K.
Is minimally invasive surgery-total knee arthroplasty truly less invasive than standard
total knee arthroplasty? A quantitative evaluation.
J Arthroplasty.
2010;
25
970-976
- 21
Wülker N, Lambermont J P, Sacchetti L, Lazaró J G, Nardi J.
A prospective randomized study of minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty compared
with conventional surgery.
J Bone Joint Surg Am.
2010;
92
1584-1590
- 22
Chen A F, Alan R K, Redziniak D E, Tria Jr A J.
Quadriceps sparing total knee replacement. The initial experience with results at
two to four years.
J Bone Joint Surg Br.
2006;
88
1448-1453
- 23
Barrack R L, Barnes C L, Burnett R S, Miller D, Clohisy J C, Maloney W J.
Minimal incision surgery as a risk factor for early failure of total knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
2009;
24
489-498
- 24
Eckhoff D G, Bach J M, Spitzer V M et al..
Three-dimensional mechanics, kinematics, and morphology of the knee viewed in virtual
reality.
J Bone Joint Surg Am.
2005;
87
(Suppl 2)
71-80
- 25
Mahoney O M, Kinsey T L.
5- to 9-year survivorship of single-radius, posterior-stabilized TKA.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2008;
466
436-442
- 26
Harwin S F, Kester M.
Single radius total knee arthroplasty: PCL sacrifice without substitution yields excellent
outcomes minimum 8-year follow-up.
Surg Technol Int.
2010;
19
191-198
- 27
Greene K A, Schurman II J R.
Quadriceps muscle function in primary total knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
2008;
23
(7, Suppl)
15-19
- 28
Wang H, Simpson K J, Ferrara M S, Chamnongkich S, Kinsey T, Mahoney O M.
Biomechanical differences exhibited during sit-to-stand between total knee arthroplasty
designs of varying radii.
J Arthroplasty.
2006;
21
1193-1199
- 29
Gómez-Barrena E, Fernandez-García C, Fernandez-Bravo A, Cutillas-Ruiz R, Bermejo-Fernandez G.
Functional performance with a single-radius femoral design total knee arthroplasty.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2010;
468
1214-1220
- 30
McCalden R W, MacDonald S J, Bourne R B, Marr J T.
A randomized controlled trial comparing “high-flex” vs “standard” posterior cruciate
substituting polyethylene tibial inserts in total knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
2009;
24
(6, Suppl)
33-38
- 31
Mehin R, Burnett R S, Brasher P M.
Does the new generation of high-flex knee prostheses improve the post-operative range
of movement? A meta-analysis.
J Bone Joint Surg Br.
2010;
92
1429-1434
- 32
Harwin S F, Greene K A, Hitt K.
Triathlon total knee arthroplasty: 4-year outcomes with a high-performance implant.
J Knee Surg.
2008;
21
320-326
- 33
McCalden R W, MacDonald S J, Charron K D, Bourne R B, Naudie D D.
The role of polyethylene design on postoperative TKA flexion: an analysis of 1534
cases.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2010;
468
108-114
- 34
Maheshwari A V, Blum Y C, Shekhar L, Ranawat A S, Ranawat C S.
Multimodal pain management after total hip and knee arthroplasty at the Ranawat Orthopaedic
Center.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2009;
467
1418-1423
- 35
Kadic L, Boonstra M C, DE Waal Malefijt M C, Lako S J, VAN Egmond J, Driessen J J.
Continuous femoral nerve block after total knee arthroplasty?.
Acta Anaesthesiol Scand.
2009;
53
914-920
- 36
Kandasami M, Kinninmonth A W, Sarungi M, Baines J, Scott N B.
Femoral nerve block for total knee replacement - a word of caution.
Knee.
2009;
16
98-100
- 37
Sharma S, Iorio R, Specht L M, Davies-Lepie S, Healy W L.
Complications of femoral nerve block for total knee arthroplasty.
Clin Orthop Relat Res.
2010;
468
135-140
- 38
Kolisek F R, Gilmore K J, Peterson E K.
Slide and flex, tighten, extend (SAFTE): A safe, convenient, effective, and no-cost
approach to rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
2000;
15
1013-1016
- 39
Ritter M A, Campbell E D.
Effect of range of motion on the success of a total knee arthroplasty.
J Arthroplasty.
1987;
2
95-97
- 40
Lizaur A, Marco L, Cebrian R.
Preoperative factors influencing the range of movement after total knee arthroplasty
for severe osteoarthritis.
J Bone Joint Surg Br.
1997;
79
626-629
Kenneth A GreeneM.D.
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine
and Pharmacy, Cleveland Clinic
9500 Euclid Avenue A/41, Cleveland, OH 44195
Email: greenek2@ccf.org