Yet more evidence that customised patient-specific knee replacements are better than standard off-the-shelf knees.

Individualized total knee arthroplasty achieves better functional results than off-the-shelf implants in patients undergoing personalized coronal alignment.
Bernard de Geofroy et al.
The Knee 2025; 53: 228-235

This study reports the findins of a single-surgeon retrospective cohort controlled review of patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery, with 54 patients receiving a standard off-the-shelf prosthesis vs 58 patients having their surgery done with a patient-specific customised implant (with a Symbios knee). With a mean follow-up of over 2 years, the two patient groups were comparable in gender, age, BMI, and pre-operative deformity.

At final follow-up, the customised group showed significantly better Forgotten Joint Scores (91 ± 14 vs. 81 ± 23, P = 0.01), significantly better scores in the satisfaction category of the International Knee Scoring system (36 ± 5 vs. 32 ± 8, P = 0.002), better IKS functional scores (83 ± 11 vs. 72 ± 21, P = 0.003) and higher Oxford Knee Scores (44 ± 5 vs. 39 ± 10, P = 0.005).

The Symbios knee is no longer available in the UK (it was withdrawn from the UK market due to licensing issues with the MHRA, not because of any clinical issues relating to patient outcomes)… but this paper provides further evidence to support the use of patient-specific customised / custom-made knee replacement prostheses, implanted with 3D-printed patient-specific cutting guides, and lends further support for the use of Conformis custom-made knees.