Abstract
BACKGROUND: Management of total knee replacement (TKR) infection may sometimes prompt knee fusion (KF) or transfemoral amputation (TFA), both associated with low mobility and quality of life (QOL). Transcutaneous osseointegration for amputees provides superior mobility and QOL vs traditional socket prostheses but has not been studied for patients with a history of infected TKR. This study investigates the following hypothesis: Patients who have had TFA or KF following infected TKR achieve better mobility and QOL following transfemoral osseointegration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of the prospectively maintained registry identified 10 patients who had prior infected TKR. The mobility assessments (patient daily prosthesis wear time, K-level, Timed Up and Go, 6-Minute Walk Test) and QOL surveys (Questionnaire for Persons with a Transfemoral Amputation Global, Mobility, and Problem scores) were compared preoperatively and after at least 2 years. Complications requiring an additional surgery were also evaluated. RESULTS: Daily wear hours, K-level, and 6-Minute Walk Test and Questionnaire for Persons with a Transfemoral Amputation Global and Problem scores significantly improved (P < .05). Through 1 year, 4 patients (40%) had additional surgeries. After several years, 7 patients (70%) had at least 1 additional surgery, and 5 (50%) had multiple, for an average of 1 debridement and 1.3 soft-tissue refashionings per patient. One patient died of newly diagnosed cancer 1 year after transcutaneous osseointegration for amputees. CONCLUSION: Transfemoral osseointegration confers significantly better mobility and QOL vs KF or a TFA with traditional socket prostheses following infected TKR. Technique improvements to prevent subsequent surgeries may provide an increasingly streamlined experience.