Surgical Excision of the Fat Pad

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Introduction: The infrapatellar fat pad (Hoffa's fat pad) is a structure which is located intra-articularly. Its function is not well known. During knee replacement surgery, some surgeons would prefer removing the whole of the fat pad as this can improve exposure of the knee joint, as it can affect exposure of the knee joint which will in turn make the procedure slightly more efficient. Other surgeons would rather resect the minimum amount and preserve the bulk of the structure as anecdotally this is thought to decrease the level of post operative pain. This surgical step fat pad resection is a very small part of the whole total knee replacement procedure. A previous retrospective review of patients whose fat pad had been removed showed that they were nearly twice as likely to experience postoperative pain (P = 0.0005), while another study showed that they are at a slight risk of patellar tendon shortening. A randomised controlled trial of 68 patients did not show any difference in patella tendon length at six months and no difference in pain relief in both groups 3. However this study did not evaluate the functional outcome in both groups. To our knowledge, there are no RCT looking at the effect of the excision or preservation of the fat pad in TKR and the functional outcomes post operatively. Study Hypothesis: Excision of Hoffa's fat pad during total knee replacement surgery does not affect functional outcome, pain level after surgery or the patella tendon length at either one or two years.

Detailed Description
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RCT of excision or preservation of fat pad in TKR and the functional outcomes post operatively

Official Title
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Effect of Excision of the Fat Pad in Total Knee Replacement Surgery. A Randomised Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Osteo Arthritis Knee

Intervention / Treatment
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* Procedure: removal of fat pad
* Procedure: non removal of fat pad


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 1- Primary total knee replacement for knee osteoarthritis Exclusion Criteria: Revision Surgery. Primary Knee Replacement for pathologies other than Osteoarthritis. Previous knee fractures around the knee. Previous confirmed intra-articular infections. Non English speaking/reading patients.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Active Comparator: Non removal of fat pad<br>Non removal of fat pad | Procedure: non removal of fat pad<br>* non removal of fat pad<br>|
| Active Comparator: Removal of fat pad<br>Removal of fat pad | Procedure: removal of fat pad<br>* Removal removal of fat pad<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Koos Knee Score | The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) is a knee-specific instrument, developed to assess the patients' opinion about their knee and associated problems. The KOOS evaluates both short-term and long-term consequences of knee injury. | 3 months post op, |