Modular versus all-polyethylene tibial components: comparison of pre- and early post-operative patient scores in total knee replacement.

Introduction: All-polyethylene (AP) tibial components of total knee replacement (TKR) are substantially cheaper than their modular counterparts. It is well established that their survivorship and radiographic outcomes are comparable. In this study, patient-derived outcome measures were used to compare these two implant types.

Methods: A cohort of 456 primary TKRs (142 AP, 314 modular) were assessed with preoperative and 1-year post-operative Oxford Knee Score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index and Short Form - 12 scores.

Results: Both groups performed well with no significant difference in improvement and final scores at 1 year. Although there was a significant difference in mean age among the groups (P < 0.001) age-adjusted scores continued to show no significant difference between the two groups.

Discussion: Our results support the more frequent use of AP tibial components for uncomplicated TKR.