Takashi Ishinishi

Patellofemoral joint after total knee arthroplasty. Effect on contact area and contact stress.

Compressive contact stress between the patella and the anterior femur and between the quadriceps tendon and anterior femur was measured before and after total knee arthroplasty in 5 cadaver knee specimens using a digital electronic sensor. Contact stresses were measured in the normal knee and after total knee arthroplasty with an unresurfaced patella, a dome-shaped patella, and a conforming patella. Patellofemoral contact stresses did not change significantly after total knee arthroplasty when the patella was not resurfaced, but they increased significantly after the patella was resurfaced with both the dome-shaped and the conforming components. The conforming patella had the highest contact stresses because it tilted at flexion angles greater than 90 degrees and applied load to a small area on the superior portion of the patellar component. The conforming patella markedly decreased tendofemoral contact force because the thicker superior pole of the patella tented the quadriceps tendon at flexion angles greater than 120 degrees. This further increased patellofemoral contact force in deep knee flexion.

Original articlePatellofemoral joint after total knee arthroplasty: Effect on contact area and contact stress

Compressive contact stress between the patella and the anterior femur and between the quadriceps tendon and anterior femur was measured before and after total knee arthroplasty in 5 cadaver knee specimens using a digital electronic sensor. Contact stresses were measured in the normal knee and after total knee arthroplasty with an unresurfaced patella, a dome-shaped patella, and a conforming patella. Patellofemoral contact stresses did not change significantly after total knee arthroplasty when the patella was not resurfaced, but they increased significantly after the patella was resurfaced with both the dome-shaped and the conforming components. The conforming patella had the highest contact stresses because it tilted at flexion angles greater than 90 degrees and applied load to a small area on the superior portion of the patellar component. The conforming patella markedly decreased tendofemoral contact force because the thicker superior pole of the patella tented the quadriceps tendon at flexion angles greater than 120 degrees. This further increased patellofemoral contact force in deep knee flexion.

Contact stresses with an unresurfaced patella in total knee arthroplasty: the effect of femoral component design.

Compressive contact stresses between the patella and the anterior femur were measured with a digital electronic sensor before and after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in 10 cadaver knee specimens. Contact stresses were measured first in normal knees, then after TKA with the Insall-Burstein Total Condylar, Miller Galante II, Ortholoc II, Porous Coated Anatomic, and Profix knee prostheses implanted without resurfacing the patella. The Insall-Burstein, Miller-Galante II, and Ortholoc II prostheses had significantly higher contact stresses than the normal knee throughout the flexion arc. The Porous Coated Anatomic, which has a smooth patellar groove, maintained contact area as in the normal knee and did not have significantly higher contact stresses at flexion angles <90 degrees. At flexion angles > or =105 degrees, patellofemoral contact occurred in two small areas as the patella encountered the intercondylar notch in all components except the Profix. The Profix maintained full contact and low compressive stresses throughout the full flexion arc because of its posteriorly extended patellar groove. Design features of the patellofemoral portion of TKA components are important factors that affect contact stresses in the patellofemoral joint. These features likely will affect the clinical results of TKA with an unresurfaced patella.

Evaluation of patellar retinacular tension during total knee arthroplasty: Special emphasis on lateral retinacular release

Tension of a suture placed to the patella to close the medial capsule during 35 primary total knee arthroplasties was measured. The increase in tension with flexion after arthrotomy was significantly smaller in 10 knees with a subvastus incision (subvastus group) than in 25 knees with a standard medial parapatellar incision (standard group). With the prosthesis in place, the patella showed maltracking with the no-thumb technique in 1 knee (10%) of the subvastus group and in 9 knees (36%) of the standard group. A lateral retinacular release was performed in 5 of these 10 knees but not in the remaining 5 knees because the increase in tension was a minimum. There was no case of patellar maltracking at an average follow-up period of 2.1 years after surgery, suggesting that a lateral release is not always needed if retinacular tension shows no significant increase, even cases where the patella dislocates with the no-thumb technique.

Impact of methotrexate dose on efficacy of adalimumab in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Results from registered data analyses

Abstract Objective: Upper limit of methotrexate (MTX) for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was recently increased from 8 to 16 mg/week in Japan. We therefore examined the effect of concomitant MTX dose on the efficacy of adalimumab (ADA) in clinical practice. Method: Sixty-one consecutive RA patients treated with ADA were followed for minimum 52 weeks and retrospectively compared by MTX dose; patients receiving concomitant MTX of 10 mg/week or more (MTX ≥10 mg group) and <10 mg/week (MTX <10 mg group). Disease activity and remission were evaluated by the disease activity score 28 (DAS28) criteria. Results: The MTX ≥10 mg group consistently showed better improvement in DAS28 and resulted in more patients (52.8%) with DAS28-remission compared with the MTX <10 mg group (26.1%). Multivariate analysis showed that MTX ≥10 mg had a significant effect on DAS28 remission with odds ratio of 5.12. ADA retention rate was 72.2% in MTX ≥10 mg group compared with 52.0% in MTX <10 mg group. Discontinuation of ADA due to adverse events were comparable in the MTX ≥10 mg and MTX <10 mg groups (11.1% vs. 12.0%). Conclusions: These findings support the critical role of concomitant MTX in the efficacy of ADA, and recommend use of MTX ≥10 mg in Japanese RA patients.

Effect of patellar meniscus on patellofemoral contact stress in total knee arthroplasty

The effect of a meniscus of fibrous tissue (patellar meniscus), on patellofemoral contact area and stresses was evaluated. Two knees with total knee arthroplasty and dome-shaped patellar components were retrieved at autopsy. Both had substantial fibrous menisci surrounding the dome of the patellar component. Contact area and contact stresses were measured with a digital electronic sensor, first with the patellar meniscus intact, then again after the patellar meniscus was removed. No dramatic difference was detected in patellofemoral contact area and contact stresses between the patellas with an intact or removed patellar meniscus, and there was no detectable load under the patellar meniscus. The results of this case study suggest that fibrous tissue surrounding the dome-shaped patellar component does not share compressive loads with the patellar component.