A new study has revealed that orthopaedic surgeons might inadvertently cause undesirable outcomes for patients during knee replacement surgeries. The findings suggest that a more tailored approach, considering each patient’s unique anatomy, could be beneficial.
In knee replacement procedures, surgeons typically aim to align the hip, knee, and ankle in a straight line. However, the study found that this approach may be problematic if these body parts were not naturally aligned in a straight line before surgery.
The study involved 231 patients who underwent knee replacement surgery for osteoarthritis. Results indicated that patients whose knee alignment was altered during surgery reported significantly worse outcomes on average four years post-surgery.
Those with altered alignment, as shown by pre- and post-operative X-rays and measured by a knee alignment classification system, reported more difficulties and less adaptability with their artificial knee in daily activities.
Thus researchers recommend incorporating knee alignment classification into preoperative planning, suggesting that each patient’s original alignment should be the target for surgery, potentially using robot-assisted techniques to ensure precision.
Dr Toshiki Konishi from Kyushu University Hospital in Japan, who participated in the study, stated, “Our findings could help guide future clinical practices by assisting surgeons in preoperative planning. A patient-specific approach to knee alignment could become the new quality standard in orthopaedic surgery.”
