Infected total knee arthroplasty treated with arthrodesis using a modular nail.

Overview

Failed treatment of infected total knee replacement presents few attractive surgical options. Knee arthrodesis is challenging surgically and can be complicated by nonunion, malunion, or recurrent infection. Recently, a modular titanium intramedullary nail has been used in an attempt to reduce the incidence of nonunion and the rate of complications. In the present study, a review of the results of knee arthrodesis after infected total knee arthroplasty in 21 patients at three large academic institutions was performed. All patients were followed up for a mean of 2.4 years (range, 2-7.5 years). The mean age of the patients was 64 years. The mean number of previous operations was four (range, 2-9 operations). A solid arthrodesis was achieved without additional surgical treatment in 20 of 21 patients (95%). The mean time to fusion was 6.3 months. The one patient who suffered a nonunion achieved fusion after a subsequent bone grafting procedure. Based on the present study, intramedullary arthrodesis with a coupled titanium nail, is a reliable, effective method of achieving fusion after infection of a total knee arthroplasty. This procedure resulted in a high rate of fusion and a lower rate of complications when compared with traditional methods of arthrodesis.