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Patellofemoral Arthroplasty

Patellofemoral arthroplasty is a type of partial knee replacement in which surgical option for isolated patellofemoral arthritis.

Two different designs include;
• İnlay-style designed (previous generation)
o Positioning Inset flush with native trochlea
o Rotation Determine by native trochlea
o Narrower
o No further proximal extension than native trochlear surface
• Onlay-style designed (newer generation)
o Replaces entire trochlea, perpendicular to AP axis
o Set by surgeon, perpendicular to AP axis
o Wider
o Extends further proximal than native trochlea

CLINICAL PRESENTATION


· Anterior knee pain arise from patellofemoral joint

o aggravated by activities such as squatting, ascending or especially descending stairs , getting up from a chair

· Patellar crepitus and reproduce pain during retro-patellar palpation


RADIOLOGIC ASSESMENT


· Standing AP/lateral knee radiographs

· Rosenberg view

· Patellar skyline (axial or merchant) view

· Standing full-leg radiographs

o To evaluate;

- Femorotibial compartments

- Femorotibial malalignment

- Stage of PF-OA (Iwano classification)

- Trochlear dysplasia

- Patellar height

- Patellar subluxation

· MRI

- Meniscal pathology, ligament injury

· CT

- To evaluate rotational malalignment


INDICATIONS


· Indications

o Isolated symptomatic PF

o PF-OA Iwano stage 3–4

o Posttraumatic PF-OA

o Trochlear dysplasia with or without instability

o Failed prior conservative procedure

o Good patellar tracking

o Age>40 years


· Absolute contraindications


o Systemic inflammatory arthropathy

o Tibiofemoral OA

o Severe uncorrected tibiofemoral malalignment (Valgus deformity > 8 degrees or varus deformity > 5 degrees)

o Uncorrected patellofemoral instability or maltracking

o Stiffness

o Ligamentous tibiofemoral instability

o Acute infection or CRPS


· Relative contraindications

o Quadriceps atrophy

o Patella baja

o BMI > 30


COMPLICATIONS


Showing that the 5-year cumulative revision rate was greater than 20% for inlay prostheses and less than 10% for onlay designs


Early complications


· Patellar instability

· Maltracking (inlay-style implants %17-36, onlay-style implants less than %1)

· Arthrofibrosis

· Persistant pain

· Extensor mechanism failure


Late complications


· Progression of tibiofemoral arthritis (most common reason for long-term failure, ̴25% of the revision at 15 years of follow-up)

· Aseptic loosening (more frequent in cementless PFA)



REFERENCES

· Batailler C, Libert T, Oussedik S, Zaffagnini S, Lustig S. Patello-femoral arthroplasty- indications and contraindications. J ISAKOS. 2024 Aug;9(4):822-828. doi: 10.1016/j.jisako.2024.01.003. Epub 2024 Jan 5. PMID: 38185247.

· Lonner JH, Bloomfield MR. The clinical outcome of patellofemoral arthroplasty. Orthop Clin North Am. 2013 Jul;44(3):271-80, vii. doi: 10.1016/j.ocl.2013.03.002. Epub 2013 May 4. PMID: 23827831.

Pisanu G, Rosso F, Bertolo C, Dettoni F, Blonna D, Bonasia DE, Rossi R. Patellofemoral Arthroplasty: Current Concepts and Review of the Literature. Joints. 2017 Oct 4;5(4):237-245. doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1606618. PMID: 29270562; PMCID

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