Dennis W. Lennox

Results of total knee arthroplasty after failed proximal tibial osteotomy for osteoarthritis

The cases of twenty-one consecutive patients who had a minimally constrained total knee arthroplasty (six of whom had a cemented and fifteen, an uncemented prosthesis) after a failed proximal tibial osteotomy for osteoarthritis were compared with those of a non-consecutive group of twenty-one patients who had had a primary total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis. The groups were matched according to age and sex of the patient, type of prosthesis and fixation, and length of follow-up. At an average length of follow-up of 2.9 years, a good or excellent result was obtained in 81 per cent of the patients who had had a previous osteotomy. At an average length of follow-up of 2.8 years, a good or excellent result was obtained in 100 per cent of the patients who had had a primary arthroplasty. Two patients in the osteotomy group and none in the primary arthroplasty group required additional surgery. At the time of arthroplasty, technical difficulties in exposing the proximal part of the tibia were noted in three patients in the group that had undergone an osteotomy. The results of total knee arthroplasty after failed proximal tibial osteotomy approached but did not equal the results after primary total knee arthroplasty.

The conservative treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. A comparison of core decompression and pulsing electromagnetic fields.

Once roentgenographic changes are apparent, osteonecrosis of the femoral head in the adult generally progresses to osteoarthritis within two to three years. A variety of conservative surgical procedures have been devised to conserve the femoral head with varying success. This study examines the effectiveness of pulsing electromagnetic fields and core decompression in the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Both techniques reduce the incidence of clinical and roentgenographic progression. Exposure to pulsing electromagnetic fields appears to be more effective in hips with Ficat II lesions than in hips with more advanced lesions.

Cortisone-induced Intrafemoral Head Pressure Change and its Response to a Drilling Decompression Method

Intramedullary head pressure changes were studied in a group of cortisone-treated New Zealand white rabbits. In addition to femoral head pressure measurements, serum cholesterol levels were followed serially and pathologic specimens from cortisone-treated femoral heads were obtained. Surgical decompression by a drilling method was performed and pressures were remeasured at four weeks following decompression. Persistent increases in cholesterol levels and in intrafemoral head pressures were noted, particularly from six to eight weeks after initiation of steroid treatment. Cholesterol levels were elevated to four times control values and femoral head pressures averaged 2 1/2 times the control values (60 cm of water vs 24.6 +/- 5.5 cm of water). Surgical decompression by drilling effectively reduced the once elevated pressures to control values. A relationship between increased fat cell size, increased intramedullary pressure and decreased femoral head blood flow in steroid-treated rabbits is postulated. The applicability of these data to humans with steroid-induced ischemic necrosis of the femoral head has yet to be demonstrated.

Relative rates of fracture of the hip in the United States: geographic, sex and age variations

We studied the Medicare data from 1984 through 1987 for 687,850 fractures of the hip that had occurred in the United States. Our purpose was to determine the geographic, sex-specific, and age-interval variations in the relative risk of fracture of the hip in elderly white individuals. The rates of cervical, trochanteric, and subtrochanteric fracture, and the over-all rate of fracture at any of the three levels, increased with age, were greater for women than for men, and were higher in the Southern part of the country. However, there were regional, sex, and age variations. The ratio of cervical to trochanteric fractures was significantly higher in the East South Central region and lower in the Middle Atlantic and New England regions (p < 0.05). These were the same areas with the highest and lowest over-all rates, respectively, of fracture of the hip. The ratio of cervical to trochanteric fractures decreased from 1.52 in women who were sixty-five to sixty-nine years old to 0.81 in women who were at least eighty-five years old, but it stayed at approximately 1.00 for the corresponding age-groups of men. The ratio of fracture of the hip in women to fracture of the hip in men varied depending on the level of the fracture.

Revision total knee arthroplasty for aseptic failure.

Twenty-four patients with 28 failed total knee arthroplasties replaced with porous-coated anatomic (PCA) primary or revision components were studied over a two- to four-year period. Overall, there were 68% good and excellent results and three failures. When evaluated according to mode of failure, 83% of the patients who had a definable mechanical problem achieved good or excellent results. Patients who had revision operations for incapacitating pain or in whom no clearly definable problem could be ascertained before operation were not significantly improved. Complications that led to poor results were deep sepsis, wound necrosis, and extensor mechanism abnormalities.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy as a cause of poor results after total knee arthroplasty

In a series of 662 primary total knee arthroplasties, reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) was diagnosed in five patients (0.8%), four of whom demonstrated marked limitation of flexion requiring manipulation during the early postoperative period. Limitation of flexion, along with excessive pain and cutaneous hypersensitivity, should alert the surgeon to the possibility of RSD. Classic posttraumatic RSD findings of objective vasomotor changes and radiographic osteopenia may be difficult to interpret in patients after total knee arthroplasty. Sympathetic blockade is the key diagnostic and therapeutic measure in the management of RSD. RSD should be considered in a differential diagnosis of early poor results after total knee arthroplasty.

A histologic comparison of aseptic loosening of cemented, press-fit, and biologic ingrowth prostheses.

The histology of interface membranes from aseptic loosened prostheses of various types including cemented, press-fit, and biologic ingrowth varieties was compared. Pseudosynovial implant-facing surfaces were present in specimens from all types. The remaining portions of these membranes showed distinct characteristics as well. Cemented implant membranes contained many macrophages and giant cells and evidenced frequent granuloma formation. Press-fit membranes consisted of poorly vascularized, dense fibrous tissue within the loosened press-fit membrane. Macrophages and giant cells were rare, except in one specimen containing ceramic debris particles. Biologic ingrowth membranes were the most vascular and contained loosely organized connective tissue and islands of woven bone. Macrophages were common. One out of six specimens from patients with rheumatoid arthritis contained massive numbers of lymphocytes and plasma cells but not mast cells. The greatest numbers of mast cells were present in membranes from patients with osteoarthritis and in all cases were associated with the presence of stainless steel and/or chrome cobalt particles.

Avascular necrosis of the humeral head treated by core decompression. A retrospective review

Thirty shoulders, in 20 patients, which had undergone core decompression for symptomatic avascular necrosis of the humeral head were reviewed 2 to 14 years later (average 5.6). Twenty-two showed good or excellent clinical results; the other eight shoulders had required arthroplasty. All 14 shoulders with stage I or II radiological changes (Ficat and Arlet 1980) at operation had good or excellent results. We advocate early core decompression for symptomatic avascular necrosis of the humeral head.

Revision of septic total knee arthroplasty.

Nine patients with septic total knee arthroplasties (TKA) were treated between 1980 and 1984; six were gram-positive infections and three were gram-negative. Initial treatment included the maintenance of all solidly fixed components. Patients with loose components were treated with removal of all prosthetic material and subsequent reimplantation after a six-week course of antibiotics. At follow-up examination six of nine patients had satisfactory results. One patient maintained his original femoral and tibial components and one patient required a knee fusion to treat his recurrent gram-negative infection. Overall, complications were associated with chronic infection, gram-negative infection, and abnormalities of the extensor mechanism.

Total knee arthroplasty following patellectomy

Eleven patients with a previous patellectomy and primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) had chart reviews, recent clinical examinations, evaluation of roentgenograms, rating of knee arthroplasty on a standard scale, and quantitation of quadriceps and hamstring torque using an isokinetic dynamometer. Good to excellent results were present in only five of the 11 knees studied, compared with 11 of 11 patients in a control group with intact patellae. Quadriceps and hamstring torque and strength were diminished relative to the control groups. Factors that correlated with a success or failure of TKA in patients with previous patellectomy included: number of previous knee operations, three or less; presence of severe arthritic changes roentgenographically; and quadriceps performance of greater than 40 ft-lb at 30 degrees/second testing speed. Patients without patellae who lack these favorable prognostic factors for a successful TKA should be strongly considered for bracing or primary arthrodesis, rather than knee arthroplasty.