Abstract
Gap balancing technique aims to achieve equal and symmetric gap at full extension and in flexion; however, little is known about the connection between the native and the replaced knee gaps. In this study, a novel robotic assisted ligament tensioning tool was used to measure the pre- and post- operative gaps to better understand their relationship when aiming for balance gaps in flexion and extension. The accuracy of a prediction algorithm for the post-operative gaps based on the native gap and implant alignment was evaluated in this study. The medial and lateral gap were smallest at full extension. The native gaps increase with flexion until 30 degrees where they plateaued for the remaining flexion range. The native lateral gap was larger than the medial gap throughout the flexion range. Planning for equal gaps at extension and flexion resulted with tightest gaps at these angle; however, the gaps in mid-flexion were 3–4 mm larger. Good agreement was observed between the post-operative results and the predicted gas from the software algorithm. The results showed that the native gaps are neither symmetric nor equal. In addition, aiming for equal gaps reduces the variation at these angles but could result in mid- flexion laxity. Advanced robotics-assisted instrumentation can aid in evaluation of soft-tissue and help in surgical planning of TKA. This allows the surgeon to achieve the targeted outcome as well as record the final implant tension to correlate with clinical outcomes.
