Follow up on Female Knee Replacement

In one of our first posts, we discussed what was at the time a new type of knee replacement implant specifically designed for female anatomy.  These “gender specific” knee replacement implants have a shape tailored to fit the narrower distal femur or thigh bone in women. (see New Total Knee Replacements Specially Designed for Female Anatomy).  In that original post it was stated that “It will be interesting to see how these new implants fair clinically and whether the potential advantages are realized.”  Well, in a recent study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery1, these exact issues were investigated.

In the study, a group of female patients who received gender specific knee replacements were observed. Eighty five (85) women received a “gender specific” implant in one knee and a “standard” implant design in the other knee.  The group was followed for two years.  The results showed virtually no difference in outcome. Knee scores, range of motion and patient satisfaction were similar.   Interestingly, the only significant difference noted between the two types of implants was that at the time of surgery, the surgeons observed a better implant fit for the standard implant group vs. the gender specific group.  This is not what one would have assumed since the gender specific knee replacements are specifically designed to better-fit female anatomy. Although there are several different brands of gender specific knee replacements available and only one particular brand was studied, the results do suggest that the proposed advantages of gender specific or female knee replacement implants may be overstated.  However, the authors acknowledge that the 2 year follow up period may not be indicative of more long term results..  Stay tuned as more information becomes available on this controversial topic in total knee replacement.

1 Young-Hoo Kim, Yoowang Choi, and Jun-Shik Kim. “Comparison of a Standard and a Gender-Specific Posterior Cruciate-Substituting High-Flexion Knee Prosthesis: A Prospective, Randomized, Short-Term Outcome Study”. JBJS, 2010; 92: 1911-1920

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