Patient Outcomes Similar for Gender-Specific and Conventional Knees
BY LAUREN UZDIENSKI, AUGUST 24, 2010
Patients who received both a gender-specific and a conventional knee replacement had similar outcomes and reported no preference between the two, according to new data published in JBJS. The study paired Zimmer's gender-specific NexGen LPS-Flex with their standard NexGen LPS-Flex, and while the gender-specific knee is designed with certain anatomical benefits in mind, participants demonstrated similar Knee Society knee, function and pain scores; Hospital for Special Surgery knee and pain scores; and WOMAC scores in both knees. The patients also had similar range of motion and radiographic outcomes.
Zimmer's gender-specific knee is designed to address female patients' less prominent anterior condyle, an increased quadriceps angle and a reduced mediolateral:anteroposterior aspect ratio. While prior published data has indicated that total joint arthroplasty outcomes are equal or better for women compared to men, suggesting there may be little clinical need for a gender-specific device, the authors note that earlier data did not evaluate patient satisfaction with the knees. This study determined the difference in satisfaction between the devices to be negligible.
While the short-term clinical benefit of gender-specific knees has not been demonstrated, continued demand for the devices can potentially be attributed to the success of direct-to-consumer advertising. The study's authors also note that long-term data would be required to better determine the efficacy of gender-specific devices.
