Continuous passive motion after total knee arthroplasty

We established a clinical retrospective study to determine the benefit of continuous passive motion after total knee replacement. Nineteen patients who had continuous passive motion (CPM) after total knee replacement were compared to a control group of 15 patients who did not have CPM. The number of days to discharge was 16 for the CPM group and 20 for the control group. When the patients with complications from CPM were excluded from the CPM group, the average number of days to discharge for the CPM group was 12. The average number of postoperative days before reaching 90 degrees of knee flexion was nine in the CPM group as compared to 16 days in the control group. The average blood loss was not significantly different in the two groups. There were four wound healing complications in the CPM group. All four complications occurred in patients who achieved 90 degrees of knee flexion in less than six days postoperatively. We developed a protocol for maximal use of CPM without significant wound complications after total knee surgery.