Comparative Study of the Function and Quality of Life of Patients Submitted to Total Knee Arthroplasty with Fixed and Mobile Tibial Platforms

Objective To compare the function and quality of life of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with fixed tibial platform and mobile tibial platform. Methods We evaluated 240 patients with knee osteoarthritis, randomized into two groups - Group A consisted of 120 patients who underwent TKA with fixed tibial platform, and the B group, consisting of 120 patients who underwent mobile platform arthroplasty. Patients were accessed according to the function and quality of life by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) and the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and pain scores by visual analog scale (VAS) of pain, preoperatively and at 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 4 years and 8 years of surgery. Results Regarding the various domains of the SF-36, we observed that the average behavior of functional capacity scores, physical aspects, pain and emotional aspects in the patient groups were statistically different during follow-up. The other domains of quality of life showed no mean differences. Regarding the pain assessed by VAS and WOMAC pain scores, we can see that it showed a mean change in follow-up in both patient groups. However, at 2 years of follow-up, they were statistically worse in group A, equaling group B in the other moments. Conclusion After 2 years of follow-up, we observed that pain scores and VAS were lower in the fixed platform group. However, these differences did not remain in the mid-term, suggesting that the mobile tibial platform arthroplasty has a short-term advantage, and may help in the rehabilitation process.