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Comparative Study
. 2013 May;471(5):1512-22.
doi: 10.1007/s11999-012-2652-5.

Painful patellar clunk or crepitation of contemporary knee prostheses

Won Chul Choi  1 , Keun-Jung Ryu, Sahnghoon Lee, Sang Cheol Seong, Myung Chul Lee
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Painful patellar clunk or crepitation of contemporary knee prostheses

Won Chul Choi et al. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2013 May.

Abstract

Background: Painful patellar clunk or crepitation (PCC) is a resurgent complication of contemporary posterior-stabilized TKA. The incidence, time to presentation, causes, and treatment of PCC still remain controversial.

Questions/purposes: We therefore (1) compared the incidence of PCC with five contemporary TKA designs, (2) evaluated the time to presentation, (3) identified possible etiologies, and (4) determined recurrence rate and change in knee functional scores after treatment for PCC.

Methods: We reviewed 580 patients who had 826 posterior-stabilized TKAs involving five different designs. The incidences of PCC were compared among the prostheses. The knees were divided into two groups depending on the development of PCC, and possible etiologic factors of PCC, including prosthesis design and surgical or radiographic variables, were compared between groups. We investigated the onset time of PCC and evaluated treatment results by knee outcome scores. Minimum followup was 2.0 years (mean, 3.9 years; range, 2.0-9.8 years).

Results: The PCC incidence was higher in the Press-Fit Condylar(®) Sigma(®) Rotating Platform/Rotating Platform-Flex Knee System (11 of 113 knees, 9.7%) than in the others (seven of 713 knees, 1.0%). Increased risk of PCC was associated with using a specific prosthesis and patellar retention. PCC occurred in all cases within a year after TKA (mean, 7.4 months). Arthroscopic treatment (16 knees) and patellar replacement (two knees) improved knee scores, with no recurrence observed over an average followup of 29 months.

Conclusions: Prosthesis design and patellar retention were associated with PCC. Surgery resolved the PCC.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A radiograph demonstrates the Insall-Salvati ratio (A/B) and Blackburne-Peel ratio (C/D).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A radiograph demonstrates measurement of posterior femoral condylar offset.
Fig. 3A–B
Fig. 3A–B
A radiograph demonstrates measurement of femoral component flexion (A) and posterior tibial slope (B).
Fig. 4A–B
Fig. 4A–B
A radiograph demonstrates measurement of patellar tilt (A) and patellar thickness (B).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A radiograph demonstrates measurement of joint line level.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
A CT image demonstrates measurement of rotation of the femoral component using the transepicondylar and posterior prosthetic axes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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