Distal femoral replacement in complex revision knee arthroplasty

Abstract

Revision knee arthroplasty is often complicated by the presence of bone loss, making the use of conventional revision implants impossible, due to inadequate bone stock and ligamentous stability. Distal femoral replacement, although traditionally was developed for salvage surgeries for bone tumours, plays an important role in revision surgeries of elderly low-demand adults with marked bone loss and ligamentous instability. Here, we report the case of a 66-year-old female, with a history of bilateral knee replacement 5 years before the presentation, who developed left knee pain, with X-ray features of failed left knee replacement. This patient had a left distal femoral replacement and successfully returned to her pre-operative function.

Keywords

• bone loss
• ligamentous laxity
• megaprostheses