A Numerical Investigation into the Effects of Overweight and Obesity on Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Main Authors: Changjiang Wang, Yuan Guo, Junfen Shi, Weiyi Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2017-01-01
• Series: Journal of Healthcare Engineering
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/1496379

Overweight and obesity increase risks of knee osteoarthritis, which is a major cause of disability. Severe knee osteoarthritis can be treated by knee arthroplasty. Total knee arthroplasty has been used in overweight and obese patients; however, clinical reports showed that the outcome of this group of patients was not good as normal-weight patients. Two computer models were created in this paper to simulate the effect of excess loads on the distal femoral bone and contact pressures in total knee arthroplasty during a gait cycle. The numerical results showed increased stress in periprosthetic distal femoral bones and higher contact pressure on tibial polyethylene insert during the stance phase. Based on the computer simulation results and published research work, cementless total knee arthroplasty with thicker tibial polyethylene insert may be a better option for overweight patients.