Distal femoral arthropometry in Nigerians and its correlation to total knee replacement implants

INTRODUCTION: Total Knee replacement (TKR) is performed to relieve pain and restore both the mechanical axis and joint line whenever indicated. Most of prostheses being used for TKR were manufactured using dimensions from Caucasians' measurements. This study documented the dimensions of distal femora of Nigerians and correlated the dimensions with different TKR prostheses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-six matured femora were measured. Dimensions of distal femora from other regions were retrieved from published articles. The dimensions of TKR prosthesis were extracted from product monographs. Analyses were done with Microsoft excel 2010 (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, United States) and STATA version 13 (StataCorp, Texas. USA). Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05 RESULTS: The average Mediolateral dimension was 79.3 ± 4.4 mm. The anterioposterior dimensions of the medial and lateral condyles were 63.7 ± 3.6 mm and 64.9 ± 3.3 mm respectively. There were no significant differences between the left and right distal femur. The average aspect ratio calculated was1.23 ± 0.05. There was a mismatch of aspect ratio of the distal femora and those of the prostheses. Equations that can be useful both clinically and in forensic medicine were generated. CONCLUSION: This study has provided measurements that can be considered when the designing of a suitable femoral component of total knee prosthesis for Nigerians. This study also provided equations that can be used to estimate the dimensions of the medial and the lateral condyles and femoral length from parts of distal femur in forensic medicine. FUNDING: Self-funded