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. 2015 Oct;30(10):1835-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2015.04.024. Epub 2015 Apr 25.

Variability in Distal Femoral Anatomy in Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: Measurements on 13,546 Computed Tomography Scans

Gokhan Meric  1 , Guilherme C Gracitelli  2 , Luke J Aram  3 , Michael L Swank  4 , William D Bugbee  5
Affiliations

Variability in Distal Femoral Anatomy in Patients Undergoing Total Knee Arthroplasty: Measurements on 13,546 Computed Tomography Scans

Gokhan Meric et al. J Arthroplasty. 2015 Oct.

Abstract

Proper mechanical and rotational alignment plays an important role in achieving the success of the total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively determine with computed tomography (CT) the distal femoral valgus angle (DFVA) and femoral rotation angle (FRA). Our cohort included 13,546 CT scans of patients undergoing TKA. The average DFVA was 5.7 ± 2.3° (range from 1 to -16°) with 13.8% of patients identified as outliers. The distal FRA angle average was 3.3 ± 1.5° (range from -3 to 11°) with 2.8% of patients identified as outliers. These data can be useful in making orthopedic surgeons aware of the variability of femoral anatomy. Using the same cutting angle may lead to malposition of the femoral component.

Keywords: distal femoral axis; distal femoral rotation; knee anatomy; limb alignment; total knee arthroplasty.

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