Patient Satisfaction after Total Knee Arthroplasty Who is Satisfied and Who is Not?

Despite substantial advances in primary TKA, numerous studies using historic TKA implants suggest only 82% to 89% of primary TKA patients are satisfied. We reexamined this issue to determine if contemporary TKA implants might be associated with improved patient satisfaction. We performed a cross-sectional study of patient satisfaction after 1703 primary TKAs performed in the province of Ontario. Our data confirmed that approximately one in five (19%) primary TKA patients were not satisfied with the outcome. Satisfaction with pain relief varied from 72-86% and with function from 70-84% for specific activities of daily living. The strongest predictors of patient dissatisfaction after primary TKA were expectations not met (10.79 greater risk), a low 1-year WOMAC (2.59 greater risk), preoperative pain at rest (2.49 greater risk) and a postoperative complication requiring hospital readmission (1.99 greater risk).