The influence of postoperative coronal alignment on revision surgery in total knee arthroplasty

This study examines the association between postoperative coronal tibiofemoral alignment and revision surgery in knee arthroplasty. We retrospectively reviewed the case notes and post-operative long-leg radiographs of 197 Kinemax knee arthroplasty with mean follow-up of 9 years (SD 2.2). They were divided into three groups: neutral, valgus and varus. Revision or decision to revise was used as a hard endpoint. There was no statistical difference among the three groups (p=0.78). We conclude that aseptic failure of a total knee is multifactorial. Coronal tibio-femoral alignment may not be as important a cause of failure as has been previously thought.