title: The value of serial postoperative radiographs of total knee arthroplasties.
abstract: In a prospective study of 35 cemented press fit condylar knees, we studied the prevalence of radiolucent lines 1 mm wide or wider using two methods of detection: conventional (plain) and fluoroscopically-guided radiographs. All films were evaluated in accordance with the Knee Society Total Knee Arthroplasty Roentgenographic Evaluation and Scoring System. A total of 12 radiolucencies were detected in nine knees (26% of all knees) using conventional radiographs versus 25 radiolucencies in 13 knees (37% of all knees) using fluoroscopically-guided radiographs. This was a statistically significant difference and suggests that the true prevalence of periprosthetic radiolucencies will be underestimated if conventional radiographs are used to evaluate the bone-prosthesis interfaces and questions the value of routine postoperative plain film radiographs to evaluate the results of knee arthroplasty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7055, USA.
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Thomason
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Tooma
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rosu
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kelley
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000601:surgery; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000601:surgery; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011475:Prosthesis Failure