Poster Session - Knee Arthroplasty - Hall E 47th Annual Meeting, Orthopaedic Research Society, February 25 - 28, 2001, San Francisco, California 1103 POSTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT SACRIFICE INCREASES THE SIZE OF FLEXION GAP IN OSTEOARTHRITIC KNEES

Subjects and Methods The study was based on 33 knees in 30 patients who underwent TKR due to varus osteoarthritis (26 females, 4 males mean age of 69.9 years). All the operations were performed by two of the senior authors (Y.K. and A.K.) using posterior stabilized prostheses. Bone cut in the proximal tibial was made using an extramedullary alignment guide to be perpendicular to the long axis. No special attempt was made to preserve the bone segment in the proximal tibia to which the PCL was attached. The rotational alignment of the femoral component was determined based primarily on the epicondylar axis of the femur. After the anterior and posterior bone cut, osteophytes were removed and varus-valgus balance was checked using “spacer-block technique”. The medial and lateral joint gaps in 90° flexion and full extension were measured using a tensioning device (V-STAT tensorTM, Zimmer.) at 40 pound distracting forces. The PCL was then isolated with an elevator and cut at its midpoint. The lateral and medial joint gaps were measured again in the same manner as the first one. The anterior-posterior position of the tibia relative to the femur in 90° flexion was reproduced by adjusting the position of the two bones according to a marking made on the tibia during the first measurement (Figure 1 arrow). The results were statistically analysed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using a statistical software package (Statview 4.5).