With substantial interest devoted to improving knee flexion after TKA, it is important to document the relationship between high range of motion and patient-rated outcomes shown. We therefore asked whether single-design high-flexion mobile-bearing posterior-stabilized TKA resulted in: (1) improved knee function; (2) satisfying subjective results; (3) participation recreational and sporting activities; and (4) function correlated to the final range of motion. We prospectively followed 445 consecutive patients having 516 TKAs from September 2000 to January 2005. The same high-flexion posterior-stabilized mobile-bearing implant was used in all patients. Mean patient age was 71 +/- 8 years and mean body mass index was 28 +/- 4 kg/m(2). The minimum clinical followup was 2 years (mean, 3 years; range, 2-4 years). The postoperative range of knee flexion was 128 degrees +/- 4 degrees and the mean Knee Society function and knee scores were 91 +/- 6 and 96 +/- 3, respectively. Eighty-two percent of patients were involved in sporting activities and 86% returned to their previous level of activity. These data confirm that high postoperative range of knee flexion improve patient-rated outcomes.
Level of evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.