Above-Knee Amputation After Total Knee Replacement Infection: The Unfortunate End of an Odyssey

Abstract

Total knee replacement is the gold standard for the surgical treatment of late-stage symptomatic knee osteoarthritis when conservative measures have not alleviated the problem. However, as with any surgery, there are potential dangers and complications. Of these, infection is one of the most severe and may lead to life-changing outcomes for the patient. In this case report, a patient with a history of infected primary total knee arthroplasty and numerous attempts to eradicate the patient's infection is presented. After two unsuccessful two-stage revisions, and although arthrodesis was discussed and suggested, an above-knee amputation was finally applied to our patient.

A Propensity Score Matched Exploration of Infection in Primary Total Ankle Arthroplasty

“…To ensure accurate comparisons between infection and control groups, patients were propensity score matched for covariates identified as risk factors for infection after TAA as well as those that may significantly influence outcomes. 35 These variables included age, American Society of Anesthesiologists score (ASA), body mass index (BMI), smoking status, tourniquet time, implant type, and surgeon to account for surgical experience. Notably, there were no patients in the infection cohort with inflammatory arthritis, and therefore patients with inflammatory arthritis were removed from the control cohort prior to matching.…”

“…In total hip and total knee arthroplasty, a vast body of literature has outlined prosthetic joint infection (PJI) predictors, diagnostic criteria, and mitigation strategies. 1,3,6,20,23,24,27,28,34,35,39 In contrast, relatively little has been published regarding infection in TAA. 2 Infection has been identified as a catastrophic complication in TAA.…”