Introduction of total knee arthroplasty in Lithuania. Results from the first 10 years

Abstract

Introduction: We have previously reported that the first 10 years of hip arthroplasty in Lithuania resulted in a higher cumulative revision rate than that observed in Sweden. This encouraged us to compare also the results after the introduction of total knee replacement in Lithuania. Maaterials and methods : The 10-year revision rate for the first 595 primary ScanKnee® arthroplasties inserted in Klaipeda, Lithuania was compared to that of the first 1,280 ScanKnee® primary arthroplasties inserted in Sweden. As in the hip replacement study, only patients with osteoarthritis were included. Primary knee arthroplasties without patellar resurfacing were included, and the end-point was revision for any reason as well as revision for any reason other than addition of a patellar component. Results: We found that the cumulative revisions rate did not significantly differ between the groups. However, the revision pattern was different and we observed 24 isolated patellar component additions in Sweden, but none in Klaipeda. Conclusions: Contrary to our previous hip arthroplasty study the cumulative revision rate after total knee arthroplasty was similar in the two groups. This suggests that compared to hip arthroplasty, the introduction of total knee arthroplasty was less dependent on previous experience in arthroplasty surgery. The large difference with respect to isolated patellar component additions may be explained by a long-time accumulation of severe OA cases in Lithuania. To patients subject to a newly introduced surgical treatment offering great improvement in quality of life, patellofemoral pain may be a minor problem. Further, patellar problems may not have seemed particularly relevant for the surgeons in relation to the disability of other patients waiting to be treated.ÿÀ8.