Gender differences of the morphology of the distal femur and proximal tibia in a Korean population

Abstract Purpose We conducted this study to determine whether the sizes of distal femurs and proximal tibiae in Korean men and women are different, and to assess suitability of the sizes of prostheses currently used in Korea. Materials and methods We performed morphological analysis of proximal tibia and distal femur on 115 patients (56 male, 59 female) using MRI to investigate a gender difference. Tibial mediolateral dimension (tMAP), tibial medial anteroposterior dimension (tMAP), tibial lateral anteroposterior dimension (tLAP) femoral mediolateral dimension (fML), femoral medial anteroposterior dimension (fMAP), and femoral lateral anteroposterior dimension (fLAP) were measured. The ratio of tMAP and tLAP to tML (plateau aspect ratio, tAP/tML×100%), and that of fMAP and fLAP to fML (condylar aspect ratio, fAP/fML×100%) were calculated. The measurements were compared with the similar dimensions of four total knee implants currently used. Results The tML and tAP lengths showed a significant gender difference (P Conclusions Korean population revealed that women have smaller dimensions than male counterparts. In both genders, a relatively small size of prostheses matches distal femur and proximal tibia better among the implants currently used in Korea.