Approximately 30% of Functioning Anterior Cruciate Ligaments Are Sacrificed for Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) plays an important role in knee kinematics. Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) preserves the ACL, an advantage over total knee arthroplasty (TKA), where it is sacrificed. This study aims to evaluate how often functional ACLs are sacrificed in arthroplasty. The type of arthroplasty (TKA or UKA) and condition of the ACL were studied in a total of 1,586 knees in 1,052 patients who underwent knee arthroplasties. Of 1,586 knees, TKA was performed on 653 knees (41%) and UKA on 933 knees (59%). The ACL was functioning in 77% of all knees. Of the TKA knees, the ACL was functioning in 357 knees (55%). Of these, around 30% of the functioning ACLs were sacrificed to perform TKA. To improve postoperative patient satisfaction after knee arthroplasty, further study regarding relationship between ACL preservation and clinical outcome will be required.

A Comparative Study of Total Knee Arthroplasty and Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty in the Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis

“…Because the anterior cruciate ligament plays an important role in knee kinematics, UKA retains the anterior cruciate ligament and retains more soft tissue and bone. This is an advantage over TKA [ 20 , 21 ]. In the early postoperative complications, there was 1 patient with lower limb venous thrombosis in the UKA group, while 1 patient in the TKA group had delayed wound healing due to diabetes and 1 patient had a deep infection.…”