The effect of sacrificing the posterior cruciate ligament on total knee arthroplasty with cruciate retaining highly congruent rotating platform prosthesis

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effect of sacrificing the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) on the early postoperative outcome of cruciate retaining (CR) highly congruent rotating platform TKA. METHODS: From May 2018 to September 2019, 105 cases of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with CR highly congruent rotating platform prosthesis were retrospectively analyzed. According to the tension of posterior cruciate ligament, they were divided into sacrifice group (29 cases, 27.6%) and retention group (76 cases, 72.4%). Preoperative and postoperative The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, range of motion (ROM) were compared between the two groups. In addition, postoperative infection, prosthesis loosening, bearing dislocation, and other complications were also compared. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 11~24 months (mean 18.14 ± 3.52) months. There was no significant difference in general data, preoperative HSS score, and ROM between the two groups (P > 0.05). At the last follow-up, HSS score and ROM of the two groups were better than those before operation (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Moreover, there were no complications such as infection, loosening of prosthesis, and bearing dislocation in all cases. CONCLUSION: In CR, highly congruent rotating platform TKA with or without tension of the PCL can achieve satisfactory outcomes. Tension-free PCL do not cause joint instability.