Orthopaedic surgery in hemophilia. 20 Years' experience in Sweden

At the International Hemophilia Center, Malmö, Sweden, which serves a large proportion of the Swedish hemophilia population, 98 orthopaedic surgical procedures were performed from 1970 to 1989 in 66 patients ranging in age from 6 to 71 years. The most common procedures were knee synovectomy, elbow synovectomy in combination with resection of the radial head, and total hip replacement. Comparing the 2 decades of the period, 3 differences were observed: a decreasing need of surgery, an increasing average age of the patients, and a change in the kinds of operations performed. Knee synovectomy and achillotenotomy were most frequent during the 1970s, whereas elbow synovectomy with resection of the radial head and total hip replacement were most frequent during the 1980s. Owing to the availability of regular factor replacement therapy as practiced at the Malmö Center, the situation of patients with hemophilia has improved dramatically during the last 2 decades. In the authors' opinion, it is now possible to avoid hemophilic arthropathy almost completely by giving effective continuous prophylaxis from an early age. In all likelihood, this is the explanation of the changing picture of orthopaedic surgery in patients with hemophilia today.