OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lateral patellar retinacular release (LPRR) versus no release in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: This PRISMA-compliant systematic review searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, Wanfang, and VIP from inception to August 2024. We included comparative studies of TKA patients with vs without LPRR (n = 8 studies, 3,911 patients). EXCLUSION CRITERIA: statistics. Secondary outcomes showed no significant differences (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: LPRR reduces anterior knee pain but significantly increases infection risk (NNH = 32). Should be reserved for patients with intraoperative patellar maltracking after risk-benefit assessment. Findings are limited by predominant Asian cohorts, short follow-up durations, and heterogeneous surgical indications.
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Zou et al. (2025) studied this question.
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