Research that changes what happens in theatre.
Two publications, one on knee replacement and one on ligament anatomy, each explained by the question it set out to answer and what the answer means for a patient.
When a knee is replaced, should the back of the kneecap be resurfaced as well?
Every total knee replacement involves this decision, and surgeons have disagreed about it for decades. This trial randomised 250 patients to one approach or the other and followed them for at least five years, which is long enough to see whether the choice changes how the knee feels on stairs, how often a second operation is needed, and whether patients are satisfied. It is the kind of question a patient would never think to ask, and the kind of answer that shapes how Dr Catteeuw plans a replacement.
A prospective, single-centre, randomised controlled study comparing non-resurfacing versus resurfacing in a cohort of 250 posterior-stabilised total knee arthroplasties with a minimum five-year follow-up. Catteeuw A, and colleagues, with Servien E and Lustig S. First author. View
What exactly are the structures on the outside of the knee that stop it rotating, and why had five different names been given to what may be one thing?
A cadaveric dissection study that mapped the tissue on the outer side of the knee and described a structure the authors named the condylar strap. This matters for patients because rotational instability after ACL reconstruction is the main reason grafts re-tear, and understanding this anatomy is the basis for the lateral procedures that reduce that risk. The paper is cited throughout the current literature on ACL surgery, including the 2025 international consensus on lateral extra-articular procedures.
Anatomic study and reanalysis of the nomenclature of the anterolateral complex of the knee focusing on the distal iliotibial band: identification and description of the condylar strap. Landreau P, Catteeuw A, Hamie F, Saithna A, Sonnery-Cottet B, Smigielski R. View
Conferences and societies
Dr Catteeuw contributes to the scientific programmes of ESSKA and ISAKOS, the two international societies for knee surgery and sports traumatology, and is a member of SOFCOT, the French orthopaedic society. Training in Lyon and at Santy placed him inside the research groups whose published series underpin current ACL and knee replacement practice.
A full list of publications and presentations is available on request.
Why it matters to you
A surgeon who publishes has to defend every decision in front of peers, in writing, with follow-up data. That discipline carries into the consulting room: the reason for recommending an operation, or advising against it, is explained in terms of evidence and what will happen to your knee either way.