Comparison of Outcomes in Obese Patients After Total Knee Arthroplasty With Neutral or Mild Varus: a Retrospective Study With 8-year Follow-up

Abstract

Background Residual varus after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) can affect functional outcomes and prosthetic survival, which may worsen in the presence of obesity. However, no studies were found to compare the outcomes of obese patients involving postoperative residual mild varus or neutral. The aim of this study was to compare outcomes for knees of obese patients with neutral or mild varus after TKA. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 188 consecutive obese patients (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2) at our hospital who underwent TKA due to varus knee osteoarthritis from January 2010 to December 2015. The mechanical hip-knee-ankle axis angle was measured in all patients pre- and postoperatively. Prosthesis survival and knee function were retrospectively assessed based on the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, Knee Society Knee Score (KS-KS), Knee Society Function Score (KS-FS), Forgotten Joint Score (FJS), and range of motion (ROM). Results Of the 156 knees in 132 obese patients who completed follow-up for a mean of 8.32 ± 1.47 years, 97 knees were corrected from varus to neutral and 54 knees were kept in mild residual varus. Knees with mild varus showed significantly better WOMAC and FJS scores. The two types of knees did not differ significantly in KS-KS, KS-FS or ROM. Although one patient with a neutral knee had to undergo revision surgery, there was no significant difference between two groups.Conclusions For obese patients with osteoarthritis, preservation of residual varus alignment after TKA can improve functional outcomes without compromising prosthesis survival.