The Influence of Femoral Component Design in the Elimination of Patellar Clunk in Posterior-Stabilized Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Published in: The Journal of arthroplasty Vol. 21; no. 2; pp. 167 - 171
• Main Authors: Clarke, Henry D., Fuchs, Robin, Scuderi, Giles R., Mills, Edward L., Scott, William N., Insall, John N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.02.2006
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee - adverse effects; complications; Female; Femur; Humans; Knee Prosthesis; Male; Middle Aged; patellar clunk; Postoperative Complications - etiology; Postoperative Complications - prevention & control; Prosthesis Design; results; total knee arthroplasty; total knee arthroplasty; complications; results; patellar clunk
• ISSN: 0883-5403; 1532-8406
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arth.2005.05.024

Patellar clunk occurs after posterior-stabilized total knee arthroplasty and is believed to be a design-related complication. This study was undertaken to define the incidence of patellar clunk with an optimized third-generation, posterior-stabilized prosthesis. One hundred ninety three patients with 238 knees were evaluated at a minimum of 2 years after primary total knee arthroplasty with a cemented, NexGen Legacy Posterior-Stabilized prosthesis (Zimmer, Warsaw, Ind). The mean follow-up was 48 months (range, 24-72 months). No patient manifested symptoms of patellar clunk or underwent surgery for any patello-femoral problem. These results support prior evidence that femoral component design is the primary cause of patellar clunk and that modifications incorporated into this third-generation, posterior-stabilized prosthesis has eliminated the problem.