Knee fusion with intramedullary rods for failed total knee arthroplasty.

Knee fusion was obtained after failed total knee arthroplasty with the aid of internal fixation by use of intramedullary rods. The method has been used in eight cases, including difficult situations characterized by morbid obesity, segmental fractures, and loss of bone stock. In these cases, stability would have been difficult to obtain with conventional methods of external fixation, compression, or casting. Stability was achieved quickly with an intramedullary rod in eight cases; fusion was obtained in seven.