MicroPort Orthopedics has launched its Kinematic Alignment (KA) approach for the Evolution Medial-Pivot Knee System. According to the company, more and more surgeons are combining this surgical approach with the established clinical results of the MicroPort Medial-Pivot knee system in an effort to improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.
 
The Evolution Kinematic Alignment technique is designed to replicate the natural alignment of a patient’s pre-disease knee joint. Utilizing specialized instrumentation, a surgeon is able to make Bone cuts based on each individual patient’s pre-diseased state, which can reduce the need to alter the patient’s soft tissue structures like ligaments, potentially resulting in a more minimally invasive approach.
 
Unlike mechanical alignment, which focuses on a perpendicular tibial resection and non-anatomic distal and posterior femoral cuts and ligament releases, KA prioritizes the femoral cuts to duplicate the native joint line. The majority of traditional knee replacement surgeries use mechanical alignment as the reference for proper placement of the knee implant. However, when considering the natural state of a patient’s pre-arthritic knee, the alignment created utilizing this approach only accounts for roughly 2.2% of the population.¹
 
Maximizing Potential Patient Outcomes
 
The combination of Evolution Medial-Pivot Knee with Kinematic Alignment represents the latest in total knee replacement technology and maximizes potential patient outcomes. This unique combination of the latest alignment technique technology with the established clinical results of the medial-pivot design allows for a more patient-specific, anatomic total knee replacement designed to result in higher patient satisfaction.^2,3
 
“The adoption of this advanced surgical technique allows our medial-pivot surgeons to combine the benefits of medial-pivot kinematics and stability with a kinematic approach designed to individualize knee implantation to best suit each patient,” said Benny Hagag, president. “By putting the knee exactly where it was pre-disease, in its natural position, the Kinematic alignment approach has shown in clinical studies to improve both patient satisfaction and motion range.” ^2,4
 
“I’ve been in practice for 30 years and I think I do my best knees now because I’m combining Medial- Pivot and Kinematic Alignment,” said Dr. Robert Steensen, associate program director of the Orthopedic Surgery Residency at Mount Carmel Health. “While we’ve made other advances in anesthesia techniques and rehab techniques, I still feel there’s an element for improvement from the implant that I use and the alignment technique that we’re using. I have patients coming in who I think are doing better, faster because it’s more natural to put the knee in where the joint line was originally before they had arthritis.” 
 
The original MicroPort Medial-Pivot Knee System was launched in 1998 as the original system on the market. To date, more than 600,000 systems have been implanted worldwide. The MicroPort Medial-Pivot design features a medial-pivoting, ball-in-socket design providing improved stability and restoration of natural motion promoting faster functional recovery and is backed by over 20 years of clinical results, including 98.8% survivorship and 95% patient satisfaction at 17 years.^5,9
 
References:
^1. Cherian, J. J., Kapadia, B. H., Banerjee, S., Jauregui, J. J., Issa, K., & Mont, M. A. (2014). Mechanical, anatomical, and kinematic axis in TKA: concepts and practical applications. Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine, 7(2), 89-95.
^2. Superior Patient Satisfaction After TKA By Using “Ideal Arthroplasty Kinematics” Firer P and Gelbart B Orthopaedic Proceedings 2014 96-B:SUPP_19, 32-32
^3. Study conducted with the ADVANCE® Medial-Pivot Knee System. Macheras GA et al A long term clinical outcome of the Medial-Pivot Knee Arthroplasty System. Knee. 2017 Mar;24(2):447-453.
^4. Gao, Z. X., Long, N. J., Zhang, S. Y., Yu, W., Dai, Y. X., & Xiao, C. (2020). Comparison of Kinematic Alignment and Mechanical Alignment in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Meta‐analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials. Orthopaedic Surgery. Patients. J Arthroplasty. 2019 Aug;34(8):1723-1730
^4. Howell, Stephen M et al. “Implant Survival and Function Ten Years After Kinematically Aligned Total Knee Arthroplasty.” The Journal of arthroplasty vol. 33,12 (2018): 3678-3684. doi:10.1016/j.arth.2018.07.020
^5. LaMontagne M, et al. Quadriceps and Hamstring Muscle Activation and Function Following Medial-Pivot and Posterior Stabilized TKA: Pilot Study
^6. Schmidt R. Fluroscopic analyses of cruciate-retaining and medial-pivot knee implants. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2003;410:139-147.
^7. Dennis DA, Komistek RD, Mahfouz MR, Haas BD, Stiehl JB. Multicenter determination of in vivo kinematics after total knee arthroplasty. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2003
^8. Study conducted with the ADVANCE® Medial-Pivot Knee System. Macheras GA et al A long term clinical outcome of the Medial-Pivot Knee Arthroplasty System. Knee. 2017 Mar;24(2):447-453.
^9. MPO Data on file.