Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) represents a surgical procedure of paramount relevance that restores a substantial degree of function in arthritic knees. Increased consideration has been placed on the influence of limb alignment on longevity after TKA, as errors in component placement can be associated with inferior function and compromised long-term performance. Consequently, numerous studies comparing patient-specific instrumentation (PSI) to standard instruments (SI) have been published. Patient-specific approaches use preoperative imaging to manufacture specific material for each patient’s anatomy and were designed to achieve a higher rate of success in TKA, causing the entire procedure to be more efficient and cost-effective. However, it is not clear to what degree these studies support the potential advantages of PSI. For that reason, the purpose of the present study is to perform a review of the current evidence comparing PSI to SI, concerning alignment, cost-effectiveness and postoperative functional evaluation.

Key words: total knee arthroplasty; patient-specific instrumentation; alignment; cost-effectiveness

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