The accuracy of intramedullary tibial guide of sagittal alignment of PCL-substituting total knee arthroplasty

Experimental and clinical studies on the accuracy of the intramedullary alignment method have produced different results, and few have addressed accuracy in the sagittal plane. Reported deviations are not only attributable to the alignment method but also to radiological errors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the intramedullary alignment method in the sagittal plane using computed tomography (CT) and 3-dimensional imaging software. Thirty-one TKAs were performed using an intramedullary alignment method involving the insertion of a long 8-mm diameter rod into the medullary canal to the distal metaphysis of the tibia. All alignment instruments were set to achieve an ideal varus/valgus angle of 0° in the coronal plane and a tibial slope of 0° in the sagittal plane. The accuracy of the intramedullary alignment system was assessed by measuring the coronal tibial component angle and sagittal tibial slope angles, i.e., angles between the tibial anatomical axis and the tangent to the medial and lateral tibial plateau or the cut-surface. The mean coronal tibial component angle was 88.5° ± 1.2° and the mean tibial component slope in the sagittal plane was 1.6° ± 1.2° without anterior slope. Our intramedullary tibial alignment method, which involves passing an 8-mm diameter long rod through the tibial shaft isthmus, showed good accuracy (less than 3 degrees of variation and no anterior slope) in the sagittal plane in neutral or varus knees.