Radionuclide scanning after total knee replacement: correlation with pain and radiolucent lines. A prospective study.

The authors examined the relationships among Tc-99m radionuclide bone scan findings, pain, and radiolucent lines in 35 postsurgical knees. Our prospective study included bone scans, as well as radiographic and clinical examination three, seven, and 12 months after knee replacement surgery in 35 patients. Twenty-seven patients had no pain 12 months after surgery and eight patients had moderate or severe pain. Prosthetic loosening was seen in one patient. Thirty-three patients exhibited a radiolucent line under the tibial part of the prosthesis. Isotope uptake was the same in the painful and nonpainful knees, and the degree of isotope uptake did not correlate with the development of radiolucent lines around the prosthetic components.