Laboratory evaluation of alignment and kinematics in a unicompartmental knee arthroplasty inserted with intramedullary instrumentation.

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the reliability of intramedullary (IM) instrumentation for unicompartmental total knee replacement and to assess the stability characteristics of the knee after implantation of a relatively unconstrained articular surface. Five adult, human cadaver lower extremities including hip, knee, and ankle were used to evaluate IM alignment. Five adult, fresh-frozen knee specimens were used to evaluate knee kinematics. Long anterioposterior roentgenograms were used to evaluate valgus angle and position of the center of the knee relative to the mechanical axis of the lower extremity. IM instrumentation returned the knee to normal alignment in all cases. The greatest valgus angle change was 3 degrees, and the position of the center of the knee relative to the mechanical axis was not significantly altered. Knee kinematics after unicompartmental knee replacement followed the predicted pattern of normal stability in extension and had slightly less varus-valgus laxity at 30 degrees (p less than 0.01), 45 degrees (p less than 0.01), and 60 degrees (p less than 0.05), and less anteroposterior displacement at 45 degrees (p less than 0.01) and 60 degrees (p less than 0.05). This study offers encouraging evidence that unicompartmental knee replacement with unconstrained components can restore normal knee kinematics, and that alignment can be restored with a high degree of accuracy with an intramedullary alignment system.