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Insall–Salvati ratio stabilizes one year after mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty and does not correlate with mid-to-long-term clinical outcomes

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Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

It has not been established whether changes in the length of the patellar tendon (LPT) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) affect clinical outcomes. Therefore, this prospective cohort study aimed to evaluate changes in the LPT over time postoperatively and clarify their impact on clinical outcomes after bilateral TKA, performed with differently designed mobile-bearing (meniscal-bearing and rotating-platform) implants on contralateral knees.

Methods

51 patients who required staged bilateral mobile-bearing TKA were recruited. LPT was evaluated by measuring the Insall–Salvati ratio (ISR) preoperatively and at 1 week, 6 months, and 1, 2, and ≥ 5 years postoperatively. Hospital for Special Surgery score and range of motion were assessed at the final follow-up.

Results

Based on the ISR, there were no differences in the patterns of change between the two types of implant (n.s.). At the 6-month follow-up, the ISRs of both implants had significantly decreased (p = 0.002). Throughout the follow-up, the ISR was significantly lower (p < 0.001) for the meniscal-bearing knees than for the rotating-platform knees. After the 1-year follow-up, there were no further substantial changes in the ISR in either group. There was also no significant correlation between the ISR and clinical outcomes.

Conclusions

LPT decreased after both mobile-bearing TKAs for up to 1 year postoperatively, although the decrease was more significant for the meniscal-bearing knees than the rotating-platform knees. After 1 year postoperatively, however, these conditions had stabilized, with no further changes. Thus, LPT plays a minimal role in mid-to-long-term clinical outcomes after TKA.

Level of evidence

Therapeutic prospective study, Level II.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Nancy Schatken, BS, MT (ASCP), from Edanz Group (http://www.edanzediting.com/ac), for editing a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

No external funding was used.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ishii Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Clinic, 1089 Shimo-Oshi, Gyoda, Saitama, 361-0037, Japan

    Yoshinori Ishii, Hideo Noguchi, Junko Sato & Nobukazu Ezawa

  2. Kouseiren Takaoka Hospital, 5-10 Eirakutyo Takaoka, Toyama, 933-8555, Japan

    Hana Ishii

  3. Niigata University Crisis Management Office, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University Hospital, 1 Asahimachi Dori Niigata, Niigata, 951-8520, Japan

    Shin-ichi Toyabe

Authors
  1. Yoshinori Ishii
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  2. Hideo Noguchi
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  4. Hana Ishii
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  5. Nobukazu Ezawa
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Correspondence to Yoshinori Ishii.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ishii, Y., Noguchi, H., Sato, J. et al. Insall–Salvati ratio stabilizes one year after mobile-bearing total knee arthroplasty and does not correlate with mid-to-long-term clinical outcomes. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 27, 1604–1610 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-018-5211-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-018-5211-0

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