One difficulty in revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the management of distal femoral bone defects in which a joint line elevation (JLE) is likely to occur. Although JLE has been associated with inferior clinical results, the effect that an elevated joint line has on knee contact forces has not been investigated. To understand the clinical observations and elaborate the potential risk associated with a JLE, we performed a virtual TKA on the musculoskeletal models of four subjects. Tibio-and patellofemoral joint contact forces (JCF) were calculated for walking and stair climbing, varying the location of the joint line. An elevation of the joint line primarily affected the patellofemoral joint with JCF increases of as much as 60% of the patient's body weight (BW) at 10-mm JLE and 90% BW at 15-mm JLE, while the largest increase in tibiofemoral JCF was only 14% BW. This data demonstrates the importance of restoring the joint line, as it plays a critical role for the magnitudes of the JCFs, particularly for the patellofemoral joint. JLE caused by managing distal femoral defects with downsizing and proximalizing the femoral component could increase the patellofemoral contact forces, and may be a contributing factor to postoperative complications such as pain, polyethylene wear, and limited function. ß

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Mechanical loading of the lower extremities due to muscle and joint contact forces plays an important role in orthopaedic and trauma surgery. Detailed, patient specific information on the in vivo forces and their distribution is, however, currently not readily available to the surgeon in clinical routine. The goal of this study was to elucidate the relationship between the position of the cup and the musculoskeletal loading conditions at the hip using validated analyses, and further, to evaluate the predictions of the biomechanical conditions against the results of a clinical study. The results indicate that restoring the anatomical hip centre to its anatomical mediolateral position could help to reduce joint loads and add to the longevity of the reconstruction. The routine use of validated analyses of musculoskeletal loading conditions, such as in the presented example using standardised pre-operative planning and sound intra-operative decision support systems, could contribute to securing a high standard in patient treatment.

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