Tibial Post Wear in Posterior-Stabilized Knee Replacements: A Study of Three Contemporary Designs

Introduction The tibial post in posterior-stabilized (PS) knee implants has been identified as a potential source of wear debris. While most studies have been unable to link the amount of post wear to differences in design, a recent study found a significant difference in location of post wear between two very similar designs, the IB I and IB II, which had only subtle differences in post location [1]. Based on these results from designs with similar bearing surfaces, the question arises as to the influence of post design on other contemporary PS knee implants and how changes in post design and location made to improve function may also affect post damage. This study examines the tibial post damage in three contemporary PS total knee designs. We hypothesized that differences in the tibial post design between these implants correlate with different damage patterns.