Do Patients Really Gain Outcome Benefits When Using the High-Flex Knee Prostheses in Total Knee Arthroplasty? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

18 randomized controlled trials (1906 patients, 2069 knees) were included in this meta-analysis to assess if high-flex knee prostheses provided advantages in the range of motion of the knee, clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction when compared to standard prostheses in patients receiving total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The results suggested that postoperative ROM was slightly greater in high-flexion TKAs as compared to standard TKAs; however, subgroup analysis based on surgical technique indicated no significant differences in postoperative ROM between the groups. No differences were observed in clinical outcomes assessed via KSS, HSS, WOMAC and SF-36 and patient satisfaction and risk of complications were not significantly different between groups. The results of this meta-analysis indicate that high-flex knee prostheses do not provide benefits over standard prostheses over the short-term.