257 ankle arthroplasties performed in Norway between 1994 and 2005.
OBJECTIVE
There have been few reports on the long-term outcome of ankle replacements. The Norwegian Arthroplasty Register has been registering ankle replacements since 1994, but no analysis of these data has been published to date. Here we report data on the use of total ankle replacements and the revision rate in the Norwegian population over a 12-year period.


METHODS
We used the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register to find ankle arthroplasties performed between 1994 and 2005. Patient demographics, diagnoses, brands of prosthesis, revisions, and time trends were investigated.


RESULTS
There were 257 primary ankle replacements, 32 of which were cemented TPR prostheses and 212 of which were cementless STAR prostheses. The overall 5- year and 10-year survival was 89% and 76%, respectively. Prosthesis survival was the same for the cementless STAR prosthesis and the cemented TPR prosthesis. There was no significant influence of age, sex, type of prosthesis, diagnosis, or year of operation on the risk of revision. The incidence of ankle replacements due to osteoarthritis, but not due to inflammatory arthritis, increased over the years.


CONCLUSIONS
The revision rate was acceptable compared to other studies of ankle arthroplasties, but high compared to total knee and hip arthroplasties. The overall incidence of ankle replacements increased during the study period.
Fevang
Bjørg-Tilde S
BT
Department of Rheumatology, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway. bjorg.tilde.svanes.fevang@helse-bergen.no
Lie
Stein A
SA
Havelin
Leif I
LI
Brun
Johan G
JG
Skredderstuen
Arne
A
Furnes
Ove
O
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000843:Ankle Joint / Q000601:surgery*; D001168:Arthritis / Q000601:surgery*; D019643:Arthroplasty, Replacement / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000601:surgery; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012042:Registries; D012086:Reoperation; D012307:Risk Factors