COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF PROXIMAL TIBIAL COVERAGE

Researchers of this study used computed tomographic studies of the pro ximal tibia for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty to determi ne basic morphologic data of size, shape, and area of varying levels f rom the articular surface. Five off-the-shelf tibial component shapes (4 symmetric, 1 asymmetric) were templated to determine the fit of the components at the various resection levels. Seventy-two knees were as sessed at 2-mm, 68 at 5-mm, 40 at 8-mm, and 17 at 11-mm resection leve ls. Significant differences in fit and percentage of total area of cov erage were identified. Fit was significantly better for the asymmetric as compared with the symmetric components (p = 0.001) at all levels o f resection. Fit was significantly worse for each component as the res ection depth increased. This information can serve as a bridge to clin ical and laboratory data in identifying the importance of tibial compo nent fit to the overall performance of a total knee arthroplasty desig n.