Effect of Implant Design on Knee Flexion

From March 2006 to August 2008, 93 subjects (186 knees) underwent simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty performed by eight surgeons at North American centers. This randomized study was conducted to determine whether non-weight-bearing passive flexion was superior for knees receiving a posterior stabilized high flexion device compared to a posterior stabilized standard device in the contra-lateral knee. Weight-bearing single leg active flexion was one secondary endpoint. Follow-up compliance was 92.5%. Results show small, but significant superiority in the motion metrics for the high flexion device compared to the standard device 12 months after surgery, especially for a subgroup of patients with pre-operative flexion less than 120° in both knees. Thus, the ideal candidate for the high flexion device may be one with lesser pre-operative flexion.