Limited femoral navigation versus conventional intramedullary femoral jig based instrumentation for achieving optimal restoration of mechanical axis post total knee arthroplasty: a prospective comparative study of 200 knees.

A prospective comparative study was conducted to compare the mechanical axis post total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between two groups: In the first group of 100 knees (ASM group) Articular Surface Mounted navigation system was used to guide the distal femoral cut. In the second group of 100 knees (JIG group) conventional intramedullary femoral jig was used. The postoperative mechanical axis of the leg was within 3° of neutral alignment in 90% of the TKA in the ASM group (mean 178.12°) as compared to 74% in the JIG group (mean 177.02°). This difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The data presented show that the use of limited femoral navigation leads to more accurate restoration of mechanical axis alignment when compared to conventional intramedullary femoral jigs.