title: Total Knee Arthroplasty for Severe Flexion Contracture in Rheumatoid Arthritis Knees.
abstract: Flexion contracture deformities, as well as severe varus and valgus deformities of the knee joint, accompany osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In particular, severe flexion contracture deformity of the knee joint is often found in patients with RA, which renders them nonambulatory. This report describes a 26-year-old female patient diagnosed with RA 10 years ago. She had chronic joint pain, severe flexion contracture, valgus deformity in both knees, and limited range of motion in both knees and became nonambulatory. She underwent a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and serial casting and physical therapy to restore stable joint movement and correct knee joint deformity. Her pain was successfully relieved, and she was able to walk after surgery. Here, we report the excellent results of TKA in this RA patient with severe flexion contracture of both knees.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dong-Eui Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Youn Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dong-Eui Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyu Pill
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dong-Eui Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Taek
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dong-Eui Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Wan
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dong-Eui Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Won Seok
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Arthroplasty; Flexion contracture; Knee; Rheumatoid arthritis