Can isolated referencing of femoral and tibial bone anatomy yield comparable ligament-balanced total knee arthroplasty to a robotic implantation technique? A Comparison of Two Planning Techniques

Assessment will be of the predicted ligament laxity that would be achieved if the anatomically based pre-operative plan were followed, as determined by the robotic system.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease of the elderly, with knee OA more common than hip or ankle OA. Primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been used successfully for decades to treat osteoarthritis. While a mechanical alignment (MA) of the prosthesis was initially pursued, this is increasingly being abandoned with the knowledge of the large variability of individual anatomy and knee biomechanics. New techniques involving patient-specific implantation techniques based on individual cutting guides and robotic-assisted implantation techniques have become more prevalent. While 3D-printed cutting guides are used to plan and perform osseous resections based on the individual bony anatomy, robotic-assisted techniques take into account the ligamentous stress ratios in flexion and extension. The purpose of this study is to determine whether planning based solely on the patient's bony anatomy achieves similar medial and lateral ligamentous tension ratios after total knee arthroplasty as a robotic-assisted technique that implements resections based on ligamentous tension ratios and bony anatomy.