Article

This retrospective study was done to evaluate the results of total knee
arthroplasty performed on 32 patients with stiff knee, having a preoperative arc
of movement between 0 degrees and 50 degrees (average 30 degrees ). This group of
patients were matched with a group of 32 flexible knees, randomly selected from
the same cohort of patients who underwent knee arthroplasty in our ward. At a
mean follow-up of 4.5 years (min 2, max 11 years), seven patients of the stiff
group reported complications (21.8% overall): four prosthetic infection that
successively underwent removal of the implant, one skin necrosis 4 months after
the intervention, one early contracture and one late stiffness of the knee. In
the control group, in two cases, there was substitution of the implant due to
periprosthetic infection. At the end of the study period, the clinical evaluation
was not possible in four patients of the stiff and in two patients of the control
group who underwent revision of the prosthetic components. An excellent or good
clinical result was obtained in 92% of stiff group and in 96% of the control
group patients. Although the final results achieved in these patients are worse
than those of patients with flexible knee due to disadvantageous preoperative
conditions and high complication rate, our results demonstrate the efficacy of
the arthroplasty procedure as treatment of stiff knee.

Langue : ANGLAIS