Abstract
Knee arthrodesis is a salvage procedure suited for a painful knee which is not amenable to other forms of treatment such as primary or revision total knee arthroplasty. The leading current indication is treatment of a periprosthetic joint infection. Several methods for knee arthrodesis have been described including intramedullary fusion nails, external fixators, and dual plating techniques. Modern intramedullary nails allow fusion through a single incision and have the highest reported rates of fusion. Knee arthrodesis for infection should be performed in a staged fashion with an antibiotic spacer similar to staged treatment for an infected total knee arthroplasty. Both the patient and surgeon should be aware of the functional implications of knee arthrodesis including difficulty with stairs, inclines, sitting, and the use of public transportation. Following successful fusion patients should anticipate reliable pain relief but may require an assistive device for ambulation.
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Abbreviations
- DBM:
-
Demineralized bone matrix
- PJI:
-
Periprosthetic joint infection
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Kerr, G.J., Parvizi, J. (2014). Knee Arthrodesis. In: Springer, B., Parvizi, J. (eds) Periprosthetic Joint Infection of the Hip and Knee. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7928-4_17
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