MALALIGNMENT

	Approximately 31% of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures performed in the United States were poorly aligned.23
	Poor alignment can lead to knee implant failure, causing pain and requiring revision surgery.
	The KneeAlign® 2 system is equivalent to large console computer-assisted surgery systems in the precise measurements required for femoral and tibial implant alignment.

In orthopedics, malalignment occurs when the bones and joints are not lined up correctly. As a result, the body’s load (i.e. weight) is not shared evenly, but instead is carried disproportionately by the body’s other joints. Malalignment is typically described as a deviation of greater than 3º from the limb’s mechanical axis, with the mechanical axis defined as an imaginary line that runs from the center of the femoral head (in the hip socket) to the center of the ankle through the knee.

Over time, poorly aligned implants can cause loosening and pain, potentially requiring revision surgery. Poorly aligned implants are estimated to account for approximately 16% of total knee revision surgeries.²⁴ Knee revision surgery, which is also known as revision total knee arthroplasty, is a procedure in which the surgeon removes a previously implanted artificial knee joint, or prosthesis, and replaces it with a new prosthesis.