Posterior cruciate ligament substitution is not essential for excellent postoperative outcomes in total knee arthroplasty.

Abstract

The study compared postoperative range of motion (ROM) and functional outcome of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)-substituting knee prosthesis compared with an ultracongruent PCL-sacrificing design. Two hundred nine patients underwent primary TKA. Posterior stabilized design (121) and highly conforming, PCL-sacrificing, ultracongruent design (88) TKAs were reviewed. Surgeon, surgical approach, and a hyperflexion postoperative rehabilitation protocol were the same. Results showed significant improvement in knee flexion, ROM, Knee Score, and Function Score within each group. Postoperative mean total ROM was slightly higher with the posterior stabilized design. The 2 groups were the same postoperatively in the improvement in ROM, Knee Score, Function Score, satisfaction level, among other activity metrics. There was no clear evidence proving superiority and the need for posterior stabilization in PCL-sacrificing TKA.