Patella Resurfacing in Total Knee Replacement

Description: Is it an Option? Edward T. Habermann, MD & Mark Kerner, MD
Total knee replacement is one of the most consistently successful procedures in orthopaedics today, with less than a 5% expected complication rate in primary situations with modern resurfacing techniques. Among these complications, over half are associated with the patella. Resurfacing of the patella has proved to be the most surgeon-dependent aspect of the procedure.
Technology and instrumentation have improved tibial and femoral resurfacing, but few such advances have occurred with patella resurfacing. In response to these complications, many surgeons are reevaluating the need to resurface the patella. At our institutions we have found that resurfacing of the patella is appropriate in nearly all cases. The exceptions are those cases where the patient's anatomic variation, extremely young age, or difficult revision makes successful resurfacing less probable.