Morphometric Assessment of Resected Femoral Cut Surface in Korean Knees and Its Fitting With Western-Designed Femoral Components

Background: This study aimed at assessing the morphometry of resected femurs in Korean patients during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and comparing these measurements with current Western-designed femoral component dimensions.

Methods: This single-blind, prospective, randomized, controlled trial involved intraoperative measurements for 271 femoral component implantations from 3 contemporary TKA systems, with 2 systems offering narrow sizing options. The difference between femoral component dimensions and the resected surface of distal femur was measured in millimeters at 5 distinct zones.

Results: Overhang of standard femoral component was common in the anterior-medial condyle and anterior-lateral condyle ranging from 50.8% to 99.0% and 21.5% to 88.0%, respectively. With narrow femoral components, the rate of overhang reduced to 21.5%-30.2% and 9.2%-32.1%. Conversely, underhang rates were higher over the anterior flange width, middle medial-lateral and posterior medial-lateral zones. Standard components displayed higher underhang rates at these zones compared to narrow components. The good fit rate for femoral component was low among the 3 systems ranging from 1.0% to 56.0%. System with narrow option sizing increases the underhang rates in males, while improving the component fit among females at similar zones with rate ranging from 5.2% to 52.9%.

Conclusion: Currently available TKA implant designs may not provide a perfect match for the distal femoral shape of the Korean population. The availability of implants with standard and narrow options can substantially improve the optimal fitting of femoral components in the Korean population.