Micromotion of a noncemented tibial component with screw fixation. An in vivo roentgen stereophotogrammetric study of the Miller-Galante prosthesis.

Abstract

Micromotion of the tibial component was studied in ten cases of successful arthroplasty for gonarthrosis using the Miller-Galante total knee prosthesis with roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA). In six of seven cases, there was a mean of 0.6-mm migration during the first year. Most of this migration occurred as tilt and rotation. Subsidence was seldom found. Inducible displacement was observed in seven cases after one year; in six, deflections were found. In five cases, the inducible displacement was small, approximately 0.3 mm, whereas the sixth case showed inducible displacement of 1.7 mm. The micromotion found in this study was smaller than has previously been reported for other noncemented prostheses. In some of these cases, the RSA data may be compatible with mechanical coupling of the prosthesis to the bone by bony ingrowth.