In a recent Orthopaedic Crossfire debate for Orthopedics This Week, HSS hip and knee surgeon Peter K. Sculco, MD, argued that neutral mechanical alignment is a better choice for long-term implant survival in joint replacement surgery.  

"In terms of pain and function, there was a recent meta-analysis looking at a number of studies that showed that neutral mechanically aligned total knees have a large and sustained positive effect on improving pain and function in patients and are very effective in treating knee osteoarthritis," said Dr. Sculco during the debate at the Annual Current Concepts in Joint Replacement (CCJR) Spring meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Neutral mechanical alignment is guaranteed with good data… Kinematic alignment requires continued close surveillance; additional testing, new implant development and limited adoption until more data is available," he added.

Read the full article at ryortho.com [subscription required].