Long term outcome of primary total knee arthroplasty. The effect of body weight and level of activity

Abstract

Total knee arthroplasty has been a successful treatment in the management of advanced knee osteoarthritis for pain relief, quality of life and function improvement for almost the last 40 years. By the year 2030, it is estimated that in the United States, the demand for total knee replacement will show a 673 % increase from the present day, with the number of operations reaching almost 3.48 million annually [1]. Constant improvement of implant materials and surgical techniques has made this operation one of the most successful procedures in medicine with several studies showing prosthesis survival more than 80-90 % at 15-20 years follow-up [2, 3]. Success rate and revision surgery for aseptic loosening is generally dependent on the degree of wear and osteolysis of the implant. Factors that influence the outcome of total knee arthroplasty are implant design and material, surgical technique and patient related conditions (Fig. 7.1). Body weight and level of activity are also patient specific factors that may affect the durability of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) [4]. © Springer-Verlag London 2015.