Optimal Position for the Artifical Patella During Resurfacing to Decrease Stress and Avoid Pre-Prosthetic Patellar Fracture

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is known to be an excellent solution to patients experiencing considerable pain at the joint and difficulty flexing and extending their knee. Unfortunately, after surgery, cases of peri-prosthetic patellar fracture are possible. The prevalence of this fracture ranges from 0.11% to 21.4% for the over 400,000 TKAs that are conducted in the United States every year and therefore, patellar fracture can become a serious concern. The factors that lead to this are several and many researchers are still investigating this problem. This research shows that the position of the surgically inserted artificial patella, also referred to as the patellar button, influences occurrence of patellar fractures and attempts to derive the ideal position for the button to reduce the risk of patellar fracture.