Comparison of two total knee prostheses on the incidence of patella clunk syndrome

The patella clunk syndrome is not an uncommon complication, particularly after posterior-stabilized (PS) total knee arthroplasty. The present study was a consecutive unselected series comparing the incidence of the patella clunk syndrome amongst two comparable groups of elderly patients with knee arthritis implanted with the Insall-Burstein (IB II) total knee system and the newer NexGen Legacy total knee prosthesis. While 7.5% of patients in the PS IB II group developed patella clunk syndrome, none occurred in the NexGen group (P=0.05). We believe the difference is due mainly to a change in the design of the prosthesis, especially the more posterior intercondylar box and femoral cam of the NexGen femoral component.