Long-Term Outcomes of a Modular System in Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty

With the growing demand for total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the burden of revision surgery will continue to rise. Revision knee arthroplasty has historically had worse survivorship than primary knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to review the 10-year outcomes and survivorship of a modular revision knee system.

A retrospective review was conducted on 109 patients (117 knees) who underwent a revision knee arthroplasty with the Vanguard® Super Stabilized Knee (SSK) Revision System (Zimmer Biomet; Warsaw, Indiana) who were eligible for 10-year minimum follow up. Clinical and radiographic data was obtained pre- and postoperatively, six weeks postoperatively, and then every year thereafter.

With an average follow up of 10.7 years (range, 2.3 to 14.1 years), the SSK revision system exhibited a notable improvement in both clinical and functional outcomes. Average knee range of motion improvement was 4.2 degrees (SD ±18). Manipulations under anesthesia were performed in six knees (5%). Re-revisions occurred in 27 knees (23%). Ten of the re-revisions were for aseptic loosening (37%), eight for periprosthetic infection (30%), five for instability (19%), and the remainder for other aseptic causes. Mean time to failure was 4.6 years (range, 1 to 9.1 years). The 10-year all-cause survival was 77% (95% confidence interval [CI], 73 to 81%). The 10-year aseptic survival was 83% (95% CI, 79 to 87%).

The findings of this study show an 83% 10-year aseptic survivorship with the Vanguard® SSK knee revision system. These results are comparable to long-term follow up of other revision knee systems.