21
September
2021
|
13:55 PM
America/New_York

TKA for stiffness may improve postoperative range of motion

Orthopedics Today reports on HSS study results presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2021 annual meeting finding patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for stiffness may experience improvement in postoperative range of motion.

Under the supervision of Peter K. Sculco, MD, hip and knee surgeon at HSS, the study was conducted by first author Ioannis Gkiatas, MD, PhD, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Ioannina, in Greece, who recently completed a research fellowship at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Complex Joint Reconstruction Center at HSS and colleagues.

The study measured range of motion preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 6 months and 12 months postoperatively among patients who underwent revision TKA due to knee stiffness.

“We defined stiffness in our patients [as] when the knee flexion was less than 100° and the extension was more than 10°,” Dr. Gkiatas noted.

Dr. Gkiatas said 80% of patients who were able to reach 82° of range of motion at 6 weeks postoperatively either gained or maintained that range of motion by 6 months postoperatively.

“This is helpful, in our minds, for the clinician and the patient because if the patient goes to the clinic with a stiff total knee arthroplasty and he needs a revision, then, according to the preoperative range of motion, the physician can guide the patient what to expect,” explained Dr. Gkiatas.

Read the full article at Healio.com/news/orthopedics.