Total knee arthroplasty without patellar resurfacing in active and overweight patients.

Overweight patients are often considered poor candidates for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). A retrospective study of this was done on 47 osteoarthritic knees treated by TKA without patella resurfacing between March 1991 and June 1993. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) rating system was used for clinical evaluation, and radiographs to study the degree of osteoarthritis and radiolucency. Correlations between overweight, range of motion (ROM) and stage of patellar damage and other measured variables (HSS score, patellar pain and radiolucency) were studied. Overweight was not correlated with HSS score, radiolucency or patellar pain. ROM was significantly correlated with patellar pain and HSS score, with better results in patients with ROM between 90 degrees and 110 degrees. Therefore, we believe that TKA in osteoarthritic knees can lead to successful results, even in active or overweight patients.