Patient-Reported Outcomes Before and After Primary and Revision Total Ankle Arthroplasty

Studies examining the clinical outcomes of revision total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) are sparse. Revision TAA surgery has become more common with availability of revision implants and refinement of bone-conserving primary implants. In this study, patient-reported results and clinical outcomes were analyzed for a cohort of patients who underwent both primary and revision TAA at a single high-volume institution.

We retrospectively reviewed prospectively collected data on 29 patients with failed primary total ankle arthroplasty. Cases of isolated polyethylene exchange, infection, or extra-articular realignment procedures were excluded. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures and clinical results were reviewed in this longitudinal study.

Fifteen patients (51.7%) underwent revision of just the talar and polyethylene components while 13 patients (44.8%) underwent revision of all components. The most common cause was talar subsidence (51.7%). The average time to revision was 3.9 years with a follow-up of 3.2 years after revision, and 3 (10.3%) revision arthroplasties required further surgery; 2 required conversion to arthrodesis and 1 required second revision TAA. Improvements in PROs were better after primary than revision TAA.

Clinical and patient-reported results of revision ankle arthroplasty after metal component failure improved significantly but never reached the improvements seen after primary ankle arthroplasty. In our series, 10.3% of revision TAAs required a second revision TAA or arthrodesis surgery.

Therapeutic Level III, comparative series.