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Does patellar denervation reduce post-operative anterior knee pain after total knee arthroplasty?

  • Knee
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The effectiveness of patellar denervation in reducing anterior knee pain and improving patient satisfaction and quality of life after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is still controversial. A meta-analysis was conducted to try to settle the controversy.

Methods

The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library were systematically searched. Of 374 papers identified, seven randomised controlled trials involving 898 patients (983 knees) were eligible for data extraction and meta-analysis.

Results

Analysis showed that patellar denervation can significantly improve clinical outcomes for the first 12 months of follow-up after TKA, including anterior knee pain incidence (P = 0.008), visual analogue scale score (P < 0.001), patellar score (P < 0.001), Knee Society Score (P = 0.03), Knee Society Score function score (P = 0.03), and knee range of motion (P = 0.008). However, no statistical significance in outcomes was found between the patellar denervation group and no-denervation group for any of those parameters after 12 months of follow-up.

Conclusion

The best currently available evidence suggests that patellar denervation can significantly reduce anterior knee pain incidence and improve early clinical outcomes after TKA. However, after a prolonged period of follow-up, this advantage seems to disappear. Even so, the use of patellar denervation in primary TKA is recommended because it is safe and produces good early clinical outcomes.

Level of evidence

Therapeutic study, Level II.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the China Health Ministry Program (201302007). Medical editor Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, ELS (East Setauket, NY, USA) provided professional English-language editing of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 37# Wainan Guoxue Road, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    XiaoWei Xie, FuXing Pei, ZeYu Huang, Zhen Tan, Zhouyuan Yang & PengDe Kang

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  1. XiaoWei Xie
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  2. FuXing Pei
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  3. ZeYu Huang
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  4. Zhen Tan
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Correspondence to PengDe Kang.

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Xie, X., Pei, F., Huang, Z. et al. Does patellar denervation reduce post-operative anterior knee pain after total knee arthroplasty?. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 23, 1808–1815 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3566-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3566-z

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