BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of infection control and postoperative function for new articulating metal-on-cement spacer. METHODS: A retrospective study of 19 patients (20 cases), who underwent a two-stage revision arthroplasty using mobile cement prosthesis, were followed for a minimum of 2 years. This series consisted of 16 women and 3 men, having an overall mean age of 71 years. During the first stage of revision, the femoral implant and all the adherent cement was removed, after which it was autoclaved before replacement. The tibial component was removed and a doughy state, antibiotic-impregnated cement was inserted on the tibial side. To achieve joint congruency, intraoperative molding was performed by flexing and extending the knee joint. Each patient was evaluated clinically and radiologically. The clinical assessments included range of motion, and the patients were scored as per the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and Knee Society (KS) criteria. RESULTS: The mean range of knee joint motion was 70degrees prior to the first stage operation and 72degrees prior to the second stage revision arthroplasty; following revision arthroplasty, it was 113degrees at the final follow-up. The mean HSS score and KS knee and function scores were 86, 82, and 54, respectively, at the final follow-up. The success rate in terms of infection eradication was 95% (19/20 knees). No patient experienced soft tissue contracture requiring a quadriceps snip. CONCLUSIONS: This novel technique provides excellent radiological and clinical outcomes. It offers a high surface area of antibiotic-impregnated cement, a good range of motion between first and second stage revision surgery for the treatment of chronic infection after total knee arthroplasty, and is of a reasonable cost.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee/*adverse effects/*instrumentation/methods ; Bone Cements/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prosthesis-Related Infections/*surgery ; Range of Motion, Articular/physiology ; Reoperation/*instrumentation/methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: A two-stage revision remains as the "gold standard" treatment for chronically infected total knee arthroplasties. METHODS: Forty-five septic knee prostheses were revised with a minimum follow-up of 5 years. Static antibiotic-impregnated cement spacers were used in all cases. Intravenous antibiotics according to sensitivity test of the culture were applied during patients' hospital stay. Oral antibiotics were given for another 5 weeks. Second-stage surgery was undertaken after control of infection with normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein values. Extensile techniques were used if needed and metallic augments were employed for bone loss in 32 femoral and 29 tibial revisions. RESULTS: The average interval between the first-stage resection and reimplantation was 4.4 months. Significant improvement was obtained with respect to visual analog scale pain and clinical and functional scores, and infection was eradicated in 95.6% of cases following a two-stage revision total knee arthroplasty. Radiographic evaluation showed suitable alignment without signs of mechanical loosening. CONCLUSIONS: This technique is a reasonable procedure to eradicate chronic infection in knee arthroplasty and provides proper functional and clinical results. However, it sometimes requires extensile surgical approaches that could imply arduous surgeries. Metallic augments with cementless stems available in most of the knee revision systems are a suitable alternative to handle bone deficiencies, avoiding the use of bone allografts with its complications.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*administration & dosage ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee/*adverse effects ; Female ; Humans ; Knee Joint/physiology/radiography/surgery ; *Knee Prosthesis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prosthesis Design ; Prosthesis-Related Infections/*therapy ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Replantation/adverse effects/instrumentation/*methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Aged ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; adverse effects ; methods ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intraoperative Care ; instrumentation ; methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee ; surgery ; Postoperative Complications ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Recovery of Function ; Risk Assessment ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Tourniquets ; adverse effects ; Treatment Outcome