TITLE:
Short Leg Film Is Sufficient for Postoperative Follow-Up in Total Knee Arthroplasty
AUTHORS:
David M. Fang, Tatsuya Sueyoshi, Kenneth E. Davis, Merrill A. Ritter
KEYWORDS:
Total Knee Rthroplasty, Tibiofemoral Angle, Standing AP Radiograph, Accuracy
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Orthopedics,
Vol.5 No.7,
July
16,
2015
ABSTRACT: The gold standard for evaluating postoperative alignment after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been standing AP hip to ankle radiograph. The objective of this study was to determine if the angle between the anatomic axis of the tibia and femur measured on short standard radiographs accurately reflected overall coronal and mechanical alignment from full length knee films. Both full length and short length knee films were retrospectively compared measurements made on from 188 knees in 129 consecutive patients after primary TKA between July 1990 and January 1991. The tibiofemoral angle, distal femur and proximal tibia resection angles, and mechanical alignment were evaluated on the long leg by a blinded observer. The difference in the tibiofemoral angle measured on short and long leg films, 4.4 (+/﹣2.9) vs 5.2 (+/﹣3.0) degrees of valgus, respectively, was statistically significant (p