Migration of hip revision stems into the knee joint: alternative treatment modalities: technical note

We report two unusual cases of stem penetration of long shaft femoral prosthesis into the knee joint after revision total hip arthroplasty. In both patients, the protruded tip of the stem interfered with the tibial plateau and averted the knee joint from full range of motion. To avoid further extensive surgery, the tips of the femoral stem were excised using a high speed-cutter. Both patients had immediate improvement in range of motion postoperatively, fast and uncomplicated rehabilitation, immediate pain relief, and good radiological results. If this rare complication occurs, we recommend for a primary intervention to cut the tip of the stem because replacement of the prosthesis would be a long lasting and very exhaustive surgery for affected patients.