title: Recovery of knee mobility after a static or mobile spacer in total knee infection.
abstract: The purpose of the study was to compare the recovery of knee mobility after two-stage revision of an infected total knee arthroplasty using a static or mobile spacer. At 12 months follow-up, none of the patients had a recurrent infection of their new prosthesis. Knee flexion was lower in the static spacer group at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Patients that received a mobile spacer had a better and faster recovery of their knee function. The operation time of re-implantation was shorter in the mobile spacer group than in the static spacer group. Our results suggest that patients treated with a mobile spacer have a faster recovery of the knee range of motion and a shorter operation time, including for the subsequent re-implantation of a prosthesis. Our results support the use of the mobile spacer in patients with an infected TKA that are treated with a two-stage revision of the prosthesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brunnekreef
authors.forename: Gerjon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hannink
authors.forename: Maarten de Waal
authors.initials: Mde W
authors.lastname: Malefijt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007720:Knee Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D012086:Reoperation