Proximal tibial strains following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) : a finite element study

• Main Author: Xiao, Xiao
• Other Authors: Chou Siaw Meng
• Format: Industrial Attachment (IA)
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/61609
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Stress fracture on the medial tibia plateau following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) has been reported for years yet the reason for such occurrences has not been fully understood. Previous indications showed that the strength of the tibia was compromised and the support beneath the implant has deteriorated due to UKA but the origin of such failure is still being studied. This project examined the stress distribution on the proximal tibia following UKA via finite element analysis. Investigations were carried out on how pinholes and extended saw-cuts affect the stress distribution on the medial proximal tibial. Parametric variables include varying the depth of the pinholes, the depth of extended sagittal saw-cut and the number of pinholes. From the results obtained, it was found that the model with shortest pinhole depth of 18 mm has the lowest stress at the regions in the pinholes. It is also found that the highest level of stress was found at the bottom edge of the web cut directly in contact with the implants. The results also showed that fracture was most probable with the extended sagittal saw-cut, increasing the probability with a deeper cut.