Total Knee Arthroplasty Techniques

Excerpt

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most effective, cost-efficient, and consistently successful surgeries in orthopedics. Patient-reported outcomes underscore its significant impact on pain relief, functional restoration, and improved quality of life. TKA provides reliable outcomes for patients with end-stage, tricompartmental, or degenerative osteoarthritis. Considering osteoarthritis affects millions of people in the United States, the knee bears the brunt of this progressive condition, which is characterized by a gradual degeneration and loss of articular cartilage.

Estimates indicate an annual incidence of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis at 240 per 100,000 patients, with approximately 400,000 primary TKA surgeries performed annually in the United States. Although primary osteoarthritis is the most common clinical diagnosis associated with TKA, other potential underlying diagnoses include inflammatory arthritis, fracture (posttraumatic osteoarthritis or deformity), dysplasia, and malignancy.