Patellar Thickness and its Implication on Patellar Resurfacing

• Main Authors: S Vijayamohan, Nijith Ompedathil Govindan, Arjun Padmalayan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Pvt. Ltd. 2020-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Anatomy Radiology and Surgery
• Subjects: anterior knee pain; patelloplasty; patellar morphometry; total knee arthroplasty
• Online Access: http://www.ijars.net/articles/PDF/2574/44921_CE[Ra1]_F(RK)_PF1(AB_SHU)_PFA(SHU)_PN(SHU)_PF2(AvG_OM).pdf
• ISSN: 2277-8543; 2455-6874

Introduction: Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is a successful and highly satisfactory surgery, nonetheless some patients remain dissatisfied. A major reason for this is anterior knee pain, caused due to inappropriate addressal of patellar issues during TKA. There are numerous studies comparing the functional outcome between the patellar resurfaced knee and non resurfaced knee. Patella has the thickest cartilage in the body due to high level of force in the patello-femoral joint. Normal patellar thickness in western studies is between 22-26 mm. After resurfacing, a minimum bony thickness of 12-15 mm is necessary to avoid fracture. Aim: To measure the thickness of patella intraoperatively and to identify whether patella can be resurfaced, with respect to the thickness of patella. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 78 knees in a consecutive series of 49 patients, between March 2019 to November 2019. The thickness of patella was measured intraoperatively using vernier callipers in patients with tricompartmental osteoarthritis knee undergoing TKA. Results: The average thickness of patella recorded in females was 21.7 mm, in males was 23.85 mm and total average was 22.05 mm. Percentage of the sample with patellar thickness below 23 mm was 82% and percentage of patellar thickness below 20 mm was 15.4%. There was statistically significant difference between the patellar thickness of males and females (p-value <0.05). There was however no significant difference between the right and left patella among both the genders. Maximum thickness of patella recorded in the study was 26 mm while the minimum was 17 mm. Conclusion: The average patellar thickness, measured intraoperatively, in this study was 22.05±1.87 mm. Patellar resurfacing must be undertaken only on a selective basis with respect to the thickness of patella.