Knee Surg Relat Res.  2014 Mar;26(1):13-19. 10.5792/ksrr.2014.26.1.13.

Causes of Failure after Total Knee Arthroplasty in Osteoarthritis Patients 55 Years of Age or Younger

• Kim KT
• Lee S
• Ko DO
• Seo BS
• Jung WS
• Chang BK

• KMID: 2094272
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5792/ksrr.2014.26.1.13

Abstract

PURPOSE
To identify the modes of failure after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients >55 years of age and to compare with those >55 years of age in patients who underwent revision TKA.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed 256 revision TKAs among patients who underwent TKA for knee osteoarthritis between January 1992 and December 2012. The causes of TKA failure were analyzed and compared between the groups.
RESULTS
Thirty-one revision TKAs were performed in patients < or =55 years of age at the time of primary TKA, whereas 225 cases were in those >55 years of age at primary TKA. In the < or =55 years of age group, the most common cause of TKA failure was polyethylene wear (45%) followed by infection (26%) and loosening (17%). The interval from primary TKA to revision was 8.6 years (range, 1 to 17 years). There were relatively lower infection rate and higher loosening rate in patients < or =55 years of age, but the difference was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSIONS
The main causes of failure after TKA in patients < or =55 years of age were polyethylene wear, infection and loosening, and there was no significant difference in the modes of failure after TKA between the two groups.

Keyword

Knee; Arthroplasty; Failure; Revision; Younger age

MeSH Terms

Arthroplasty*
Humans
Knee*
Osteoarthritis*
Osteoarthritis, Knee
Polyethylene
Retrospective Studies
Polyethylene