Noise Generation With Good Range of Motion but Without Femorotibial Instability Has Small Effect on Patient Satisfaction After Total Knee Arthroplasty

There are several causes of patient dissatisfaction after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study hypothesized that noise occurring in the knee would worsen patient satisfaction after TKA.

We mailed a newly developed questionnaire to 103 consecutive participants who were followed for one year, resulting in data from 61 knees in 60 patients (47 women and 13 men, mean age 73 years) who underwent cruciate-substituting TKA. We evaluated postoperative range of motion, knee instability, and the 2011 Knee Society Score in terms of noise generation after TKA.

Over half of the patients noticed postoperative noise that occurred during the mid range of knee motion, but noise was not associated with feelings of instability. Postoperative range of motion differed significantly between the group with noise (122.8 ± 12.0°) and that without noise (106.3 ± 23.3°). The patellar tilt angle was also significantly larger in the group with noise (7.4 ± 5.5°) than that without noise (3.3 ± 2.6°). However, collateral ligament laxity had no significant effect on noise, and the 2011 Knee Society Score did not differ significantly different between the noise and no-noise groups.

Our hypothesis was refuted, and these findings suggest patient satisfaction after TKA is influenced more by good knee function than by noise generation.