J Knee Surg 2014; 27(06): 501-504
DOI: 10.1055/s-0034-1368143
Original Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Patient-Specific Instrumentation Does Not Improve Alignment in Total Knee Arthroplasty

Authors

  • Robert Russell

    1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
  • Timothy Brown

    1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
  • Michael Huo

    1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
  • Richard Jones

    1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
Further Information

Publication History

04 November 2013

01 January 2014

Publication Date:
06 February 2014 (online)

Abstract

Patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) was developed to improve the accuracy of component positioning in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). A meta-analysis of level I and level II studies was performed to determine if PSI improves the mechanical alignment of the leg compared with conventional instrumentation (CI) in TKA. Seven studies met inclusion criteria evaluating 559 patients undergoing TKA. Mean coronal alignment was within 1 degree of neutral mechanical alignment in both groups (PSI, 0.78 degrees; CI, 0.81 degrees). There were fewer outliers in the PSI group (21.1%) than in the CI group (23.2%), but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.59). On the basis of the data from this analysis, PSI does not significantly improve the postoperative mechanical alignment of the limb after TKA. Moreover, PSI does not decrease the number of outliers compared with CI.