Implante o no implante del componente patelar en el reemplazo total de rodilla: Estudio prospectivo con ocho ańos de seguimiento

background: patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty (tka) remains controversial. we aimed to identify differences in the clinical outcomes of tka according to whether or not patellar resurfacing had been performed. methods: 100 knees (16 bilateral) in 84 patients were enrolled in a prospective clinical trial using a posterior stabilized knee replacement (50 resurfaced versus 50 non-resurfaced). surgeries were performed by only one experienced surgeon. patients were blindly assessed with the knee society score. results: 10 patients were lost to follow-up. the mean knee society clinical score improved from 56 points to 95 in the resurfaced group and 53 to 86 in the non resurfaced group (p < 0.05). at the time of the latest follow-up, there was a significantly higher incidence of anterior knee pain in the knees that had not been resurfaced: 17 (34%) vs. 5 (10%). of the 17 patients without patellar resurfacing 16 had a non anatomic trochlear component. 75% of patients who had a bilateral knee replacement preferred the resurfaced side. conclusions: patients who underwent patellar resurfacing had better clinical results in terms of functional score and anterior knee pain. it seems likely that postoperative anterior knee pain relates to the component design. we recommend patellar resurfacing at the time of total knee replacement when technically possible.