Knee arthroplasty in octogenarians: results at 10 years.
The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term results of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in octogenarians. Between 1976 and 1989, 1 surgeon at our institution performed 110 TKAs in 90 patients who were 80 years of age or older. No patients were lost to follow-up monitoring; all living patients underwent a minimum of 10 years (range, 10-19 years) followup care. There were 5 (3.4%) surgical complications, but at final follow-up examination, no implants had failed because of aseptic loosening. Of all patients, 96% experienced complete pain relief and 91% showed an excellent knee score (> or = 85) at final follow-up examination. Only 14% of patients had an excellent function score. The 88% death rate for our patient population, the fact that only 14% of patients had an excellent function score after surgery, and the lack of aseptic implant failure by the time of final follow-up examination after an average of 8 years with a conventional TKA raise the question of whether using expensive newer-design implants cost-effectiveness is in octogenarians.
Texas Bone and Joint Center, 3601 22nd Place, Lubbock, TX 79410, USA.
Arul B
AB
Joshi
Lubisa
L
Markovic
Gurdev
G
Gill
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000502:physiology; D007720:Knee Prosthesis; D008297:Male; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000601:surgery; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D020127:Recovery of Function; D016019:Survival Analysis