Robotic Arm-Assisted Lateral Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: How Are Components Aligned?

Abstract

The purpose of this multicenter, retrospective, observational study was to investigate the association between intraoperative component positioning and soft tissue balancing, as reported by robotic technology for a cohort of patients who received robotic arm-assisted lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) as well as short-term clinical follow-up of these patients. Between 2013 and 2016, 78 patients (79 knees) underwent robotic arm-assisted lateral UKAs at two centers. Pre- and postoperatively, patients were administered the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Score (KOOS) and the Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12). Clinical results were dichotomized based upon KOOS and FJS-12 scores into either excellent or fair outcome, considering excellent KOOS and FJS-12 to be greater than or equal to 90. Intraoperative, postimplantation robotic data relative to computed tomography-based components placement were collected and classified. Following exclusions and loss to follow-up, a total of 74 subjects (75 knees) who received robotic arm-assisted lateral UKAs were taken into account with an average follow-up of 36.3 months (range: 25.0–54.2 months) postoperative. Of these, 66 patients (67 knees) were included in the clinical outcome analysis. All postoperative clinical scores showed significant improvement compared with the preoperative evaluation. No association was reported between three-dimensional component positioning and soft tissue balancing throughout knee range of motion with overall KOOS, KOOS subscales, and FJS-12 scores. Lateral UKA three-dimensional placement does not seem to affect short-term clinical performance. However, precise boundaries for lateral UKA positioning and balancing should be taken into account. Robotic assistance allows surgeons to acquire real-time information regarding implant alignment and soft tissue balancing.

Short term outcomes following robotic arm-assisted lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty

“…Authors reported that lateral RA-UKA was associated with a significantly quicker return to sports compared with the conventional technique (4.2 ± 1.8 months vs. 10.5 ± 6.7 months). Favourable outcomes with the utilisation of robotic-arm assistance in lateral UKA have been reported by several other studies (35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40), showcasing the positive impact of precise bone cuts and accurate implant positioning.…”

Traditional Chinese-Hong Kong version of Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12) for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee underwent joint replacement surgery: cross-cultural and sub-cultural adaptation, and validation

“…pain, mild stiffness, subjective dysfunction, or any discomfort [3]. FJS-12 has been introduced in different joint related studies [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] together with some "gold standards", such as Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) [11,12], Oxford Knee Score (OKS) [13], Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) [14], Knee Society Score (KSS) and Function Score (KFS) [15]. Recent technology allows patients to look for the information concerning their disease symptoms, treatments receiving and expected outcomes.…”