TOTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY IN PATIENTS WITH PRIOR QUIESCENT DISTAL FEMUR OSTEOMYELITIS

Abstract

Osteomyelitis around the knee joint if not treated in time will lead to degeneration of knee joint and those patients will have symptoms for which a total knee arthroplasty would be indicated. Very few studies are available in the literature, in which the surgeons have performed primary total knee arthroplasty in cases of previous quiescent osteomyelitis around the knee. The objective of these reports is to investigate whether prior quiescent osteomyelitis around the knee joint would result in high rate of recurrence of infection after primary total knee arthroplasty? Which antibiotics should be used if intraoperative cultures are negative in patients with quiescent osteomyelitis and what would be the duration of antibiotics? Here we present case reports of 2 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty after previous distal femur osteomyelitis and their functional outcomes aftertotal knee arthroplasty with a follow-up period of 2 years. Both the patients preoperatively were limited to indoor ambulation and had signicant difculties with stair climbing, reported signicant improvement in climbing up and down stairs, ambulatory distance and activities of daily living in the post-operative period. None of the patients had clinical signs of deep prosthetic joint infection at 2 years follow-up