Results of total knee arthroplasty following takedown of formal knee fusion.

Seventeen cases of knee fusion takedown with follow-up periods of 1 to 10 years have been reviewed. Two patients were re-fused for patellar tendon loss and sepsis. One had a chronic low-grade infection but refused re-fusion. Two patients who required immobilization for the first 10 days following total knee arthroplasty had a range of flexion of 35 degrees only. The mean range of flexion in the other patients in 84 degrees. Using The Hospital for Special Surgery rating, 29.4% scored excellent, 29.4% good, 17.6% fair, and 17.6% poor, including the two patients refused. Complications were found in nine patients (53%), six of which were resolved with further surgery. All patients preferred the mobile knee, but the complication rate is so high that the authors remain ambivalent about this procedure.