Patients’ satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty: Tashkent Medical Academy experience

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess satisfaction of our patients after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) at various intervals of follow-up. METHODS: This prospective study was performed in the Multidisciplinary clinic of the Tashkent Medical Academy in the Department of orthopedics from November 2018 to October 2020 performed 88 unilateral TKAs in patients with confirmed diagnosis of primary knee osteoarthritis III-IV grade (Kellgrene-Lawrence, 1978). Among them, 32 males and 54 females aged from 56 to 83 years old with an average of 65.1 years old. The follow up period ranged from 1 month to 1 year. On each follow-up examination (3, 6, 12 month period), every patient received UCLA activity score and VAS score. The patients assessed the degree of satisfaction after TKA on a scale ranging from "fully satisfied" to "dissatisfied" and expressed their overall satisfaction in percent. RESULTS: The mean length of stay in the obese group was 11.3 days (±6.3). There were no 30-day re-admisison cases. At the final follow-up, 4.54% of the patients were not satisfied with the outcome. Of 56 patients (63.6%) who were working before TKA, 42 (75%) returned to any job at a mean of 12 weeks post-operatively. Mean UCLA scores improved in 61 patients (69%) from 4 (mild activity) to 6 (moderate activity). The patients’ overall satisfaction was 82.2 % (i.e., responses to the question of how you were satisfied with surgery). Significantly, more satisfied patients were among those with primary osteoarthritis without any fixed deformities. Their satisfaction was related to the level of the UCLA activity rating. However, there was slight relation between VAS-evaluated pain intensity before TKA and patient satisfaction after arthroplasty. CONCLUSION: An analysis of patient responses shows that the level of satisfaction is high in the short period after surgery. Overall, patient satisfaction is slightly changed approximately 12 months after surgery. The number of dissatisfied patients or those who reported regular pain after TKA in our study is consistent with the results presented in the relevant literature, number of patients could be the cause of this. Furthermore, preoperative discussion of functional properties after TKA could help reduce dissatisfaction after TKA. In addition, multicenter studies are needed for a more in-depth analysis of patient satisfaction after TKA.