RESEARCH ARTICLE
A Dutch Survey on Circumpatellar Electrocautery in Total Knee Arthroplasty
Hans-Peter W. van Jonbergen*, 1, Alexander F.W. Barnaart1, Cees C.P.M. Verheyen2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2010Volume: 4
First Page: 201
Last Page: 203
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-4-201
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001004010201
Article History:
Received Date: 15/4/2010Revision Received Date: 6/5/2010
Acceptance Date: 12/5/2010
Electronic publication date: 22/6/2010
Collection year: 2010
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty is estimated to occur in 4-49% of patients. Some orthopedic surgeons use circumpatellar electrocautery (diathermy) to reduce the prevalence of postsurgical anterior knee pain; however, the extent of its use is unknown.
Materials and Methodology:
In April 2009, a postal questionnaire was sent to all 98 departments of orthopedic surgery in The Netherlands. The questions focused on the frequency of total knee arthroplasties, patellar resurfacing, and the use of circumpatellar electrocautery.
Results:
The response rate was 92%. A total of 18,876 TKAs, 2,096 unicompartmental knee arthroplasties, and 215 patellofemoral arthroplasties are performed yearly in The Netherlands by the responding orthopedic surgeons. Of the orthopedic surgeons performing TKA, 13% always use patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis, 49% use selective patellar resurfacing, and 38% never use it. Fifty-six percent of orthopedic surgeons use circumpatellar electrocautery when not resurfacing the patella, and 32% use electrocautery when resurfacing the patella.
Conclusion:
There is no consensus among Dutch orthopedic surgeons on the use of patellar resurfacing or circumpatellar electrocautery in total knee replacement performed for osteoarthritis. A prospective clinical trial is currently underway to fully evaluate the effect of circumpatellar electrocautery on the prevalence of anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty.
