Hospitalization, Postoperative Blood Loss Decline With Patient-Specific TKA Implants

So much for ending the debate over patient-specific implants.

A study has found that patient-specific implants used during total knee arthroplasty sheds less blood (by an estimated 44.72 mL), reduces hospitalization by 0.39 days and decreases total range of motion by 3.90 degrees. However, no significant differences were observed between surgical and tourniquet time for patients with patient-specific or conventional implants.

In the retrospective consecutive series study, researchers  with Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass., reviewed charts of 621 patients with a mean age 63.19 years. All patients underwent total knee arthroplasty; 307 of those patients received patient-specific implants (PSIs) compared with 314 patients who received conventional products. The charts for patients in the two groups were divided between two surgeons: Surgeon A — PSIs and conventional implants and Surgeon B — PSIs and conventional implants.

Researchers used linear regression analyses to measure preoperative and one-year postoperative outcomes in regard to surgical time (Surgeon A), tourniquet time (Surgeon B), estimated blood loss, hospital length of stay and range of motion differences.

Findings showed the overall estimated blood loss was 290.6 mL with mean blood loss of 261.97 mL for the PSI group and 311.31 mL for the conventional implant group. Estimated blood loss for implant types was statistically significantly different.

Surgical time overall for Surgeon A was 99.53 minutes. Mean surgical time was 99.92 minutes for the PSI group and 99.16 minutes for the conventional group. Mean tourniquet time for Surgeon B overall was 72.43 minutes with tourniquet time of 72.47 minutes for PSIs and 72.41 for conventional implants. Implant type used, surgical time and tourniquet time were not significantly different, according to the data.