A novel freehand method for patellar resurfacing in total knee replacement.

Patellar resurfacing in the context of primary total knee replacement (TKR) and in the presence of patella-femoral osteoarthritis is common and widespread practice, as it reduces the rate of re-operation and anterior knee pain. There are several measuring devices and cutting jigs available in the market, which aim to aid with accurately resecting the patellar articular surface. A common characteristic of these jigs is that the patella needs to be everted at some stage to apply them and use them. The senior author of this paper has developed a method of performing patellar resection with the use of simple instruments with no need to evert it and while it engages the trochlea in a physiological position. We propose that this method is reproducible and produces cuts that are parallel to the trochlea.