Excision Versus Preservation of the Infrapatellar Fat Pad During Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The IPFP-P during TKA reduces early postoperative complications and short-term anterior knee pain compared to resection, without affecting operative time or long-term pain. Complete resection is associated with patellar tendon shortening and a slight decrease in flexion at 12 months but does not impact overall functional scores. These findings support IPFP-P as the preferred approach in TKA over complete resection.