The native femoral sulcus as the guide for the medial/lateral position of the femoral component in knee arthroplasty: Normal patellar tracking in 690/700 knees—a prospective evaluation

Background There are no simple guidelines for the medial/lateral positioning of the femoral component in knee arthroplasty (TKA). I therefore conducted a prospective study to evaluate the use of the native femoral sulcus as a guide for the medial/lateral positioning.

Patients and methods Between 1997 and 2001, 700 primary TKAs (Nexgen Zimmer, cruciate retaining prostheses) were performed in 508 patients with the femoral component positioned according to the native femoral sulcus. Intraoperatively, no thumb technique was used to check the patellar tracking. The median follow-up period was 4.5 (4.0–5.5) years.

Results Intraoperatively, lateral retinacular release was performed in 3 knees. In the postoperative radiographic evaluation of patellar tracking, 10 knees (1.4%) had lateral tilting of the patella. The postoperative HSS scores were 93 (85–98).

Interpretation The native femoral sulcus may be used as an effective and simple guide for the medial/lat-eral femoral component position.