A Case of Failed Total Knee Arthroplasty with Difficulty in Reoperative Planning

A case of Failed total knee arthroplasty with difficulty in reoperative planning is reported. A 65-year-old women with rheumatoid arthritis, complained of severe pain in her left knee. Radiographs revealed displacement and loosening of both femoral and tibial components with the femoral lateral condyle and tibial medial condyle refleching the amount of bone that had been lost. We reimplanted a Press Fit Condyler modular type with metal spacers using the thickest stabilized HDP spacer. Excellent results were obtained. Histological evaluation of synovial tissue revealed many lymphocytes and foreign-body giant cells containing polyethylene parhcles. It was suggested that polyethylene debris may have induced the osteolysis.