Patellar Resurfacing Versus Patellar Nonreusrfacing in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Study

Patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a matter of long-standing debate and there is no consensus regarding the superiority of either patellar resurfacing or patellar nonresurfacing. We aimed to compare the outcomes of patellar resurfacing with patellar nonresurfacing in a cohort of knee OA patients sustaining a TKA. In this retrospective study, patients who had undergone TKA between 2001 and 2011 in two hospitals in Tehran, Iran, were included. The Persian version of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) was used to quantify the health status of patients. Post-operative complications and rate of reoperation were also compared between the two study groups. The study population consisted of 89 patients in the resurfacing and 72 patients in the nonresurfacing groups. The demographic characteristics of the patients were not significantly different. The mean total WOMAC scores were 19.1 ± 8.8 and 19.6 ± 9.7 for the resurfacing and nonresurfacing groups (P = 0.55). No significant difference was observed between the mean WOMAC subscale scores of the two study groups including pain (P = 0.73), stiffness (P = 0.24), and physical function (P = 0.84). Two reoperations (2.2%) were performed in the resurfacing group and one (1.4%) in the nonresurfacing group. The health status and rate of reoperation were not considerably different between the patellar resurfacing and nonresurfacing groups. These results reveal that patellar resurfacing is not necessary in TKA.