A gender-specific complete knee prosthesis to match the anatomy of the female knee was developed with an aim for a better fit in order to have better outcomes for women.
However, a recent study in the
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) found that 85 women who received a gender-specific implant in one knee and a standard prosthesis in the other knee found no clinical benefits of the gender-specific knee.
"We conducted this study to investigate whether women derive less benefit, or perhaps less predictable benefit, from total knee replacement using a standard conventional total knee implant," said Young-Hoo Kim, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon and lead author of the study.
After receiving knee implants one gender-specific and one standard prosthesis the women were assessed for at least two years after surgery. The knees with the gender-specific implant and the knees with the standard implant had similar knee scores and similar range of motion while lying down (125° for the knees with standard implants and 126° for the knees with gender-specific implants). All patients except three were able to bend their knees at least 90°.
Additionally, patient satisfaction with the implants was similar (8.3 points for the standard implants and 8.1 points for the gender-specific implants). A rating of 6 to 8 meant "satisfied," and a rating of 9 to 10 meant "fully satisfied."
Important findings included:
- The majority of women in the study (71 females or 84 percent) had no preference between the two implants,
- eight women (9 percent) preferred the standard prosthesis, and
- six (7 percent) preferred the gender-specific prosthesis.