ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Biomechanics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1615216
This article is part of the Research TopicApplication of Biomechanics in Diagnosis & Therapy of Skeletal System DiseasesView all 16 articles
THE INCLINATION OF THE TIBIAL COMPONENT HAS AN IMPACT ON FRACTURE STABILITY IN UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY: AN ARTIFICIAL BONE STUDY
Provisionally accepted
Mathis Wegner1*
Maximilian Bettendorff1Malte Bruhn2Jörg Bahr2Jürgen Carstensen2
Leonard Siebert2
Babak Moradi1- 1University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany
- 2Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, University of Kiel, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
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Background: Periprosthetic fractures (PPFs) following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) are a significant clinical challenge. Tibial component positioning may influence fracture risk, but the biomechanical effects of varus inclination on fracture loading remain unclear. Methods: We investigated the effect of tibial component varus inclination on fracture load using the Oxford® Partial Knee implant system, synthetic tibiae and a dynamic loading model. Tibial components were implanted at neutral (0°), 3° and 6° varus angles. Vertical loading was applied until fracture and fracture loads were compared between groups. Results: A 3° varus position significantly increased fracture load by 34% compared to neutral (p < 0.05). No further statistically significant increase was observed at 6° varus. The dynamic model suggested that the mobile meniscal bearing may contribute to an improved load distribution, thereby increasing fracture resistance. Conclusion: Slight varus inclination of the tibial component in UKA increases the medial tibial fracture load, potentially reducing the risk of PPF. Our findings highlight the biomechanical advantages of controlled varus positioning and provide insight into optimizing implant alignment.
Keywords: Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, Periprosthetic fracture, Tibial component, varuspositioning, PPF
Received: 20 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wegner, Bettendorff, Bruhn, Bahr, Carstensen, Siebert and Moradi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mathis Wegner, mathis.wegner@uksh.de
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