Total knee arthroplasty in a group of patients less than 45 years of age.

The long-term follow-up evaluation of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients under age 45 is reviewed. One hundred three knees in 67 patients who had an average follow-up period of 7.2 years were retrospectively reviewed. Fifty-eight percent of the patients had rheumatoid arthritis, and 29% had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Thirteen percent of the patients had post-traumatic arthritis, avascular necrosis, hemochromatosis, or lupus. The results demonstrate that the success of TKA in this patient population are comparable to those for TKA in the elderly.