Towards a height- and inclination-adjustable tibial plate to postoperatively correct the residual ligament imbalance

International audienceCollateral ligament balancing during Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) aims to distribute the tibiofemoral load symmetrically between the medial and lateral sides of a well-aligned knee. It has also the objective of reestablishing a rectangular and identical tibiofemoral space in both knee flexion and extension. Currently, the proper tibiofemoral alignment and the perfect gap equalization are ensured thanks to Computer-Assisted Orthopedic Surgery (CAOS). Nonetheless, any residual ligament imbalance at the time of TKA can develop into an excessive imbalance in the postoperative period due to the weight-bearing daily life activities subjecting these ligaments to increased loading. Accordingly, this results in an accelerated polyethylene wear and consequently in an early failure of Total Knee Replacement (TKR). The poor ligament balance caused intraoperatively is principally due to the utilisation of an inaccurate ligament balancer which tenses the medial and lateral collateral ligaments in an uncontrolled way. The aforementioned shortcoming of the surgical instrument intraoperatively-used to balance the collateral ligaments raises the need for a postoperatively-adjustable tibial device. This device may be embedded within the tibial component of TKR and implanted along with the other components of TKR into the human knee. The purpose of such a device is to correct the residual mediolateral ligament imbalance of the prosthetic knee during the postoperative follow-up visits