Mid-terms results of arthroscopic arthrolysis for stiffness around total knee arthroplasty.
Arthroscopic arthrolysis improved knee range of motion by about 21° at mid-term follow-up.
Mid-terms results of arthroscopic arthrolysis for stiffness around total knee arthroplasty.
Stiffness after total knee arthroplasty (total knee arthroplasty) remains a significant postoperative complication with prevalence ranging from 1.3% to 12%.
1) if patients who benefited from an arthroscopic arthrolysis for stiffness in both flexion and extension after total knee arthroplasty present a significant improvement of 20° in their range of motion (ROM) at mid-term follow-up, 2) the functional scores and the complications including reoperations and revisions.
This retrospective cohort study included 85 patients (47 women and 38 men, mean age at 61.5 ± 10.6 years) from nine centers of the SOFCOT symposium database, who underwent arthroscopic arthrolysis for stiffness following primary total knee arthroplasty between January 2015 and December 2019.
Average gain in knee range of motion after arthroscopic arthrolysis surgery, a significant increase.
The mean time from total knee arthroplasty to arthroscopic arthrolysis was 9.9 ± 13 months.
Patients were followed for a mean duration of 6 ± 3.1 years.
However pre-total knee arthroplasty ROM (106.6° ± 23°) was not fully restored (Δ = -20.1°. p < 0.01).
No significant improvement in extension was observed with an extension at diagnosis at 6.8° ± 7° and at 3° ± 9.1° at last follow-up.
Arthroscopic arthrolysis provides a significant mid-term improvement in joint flexion for patients suffering from post-total knee arthroplasty stiffness with no major complication related to the surgery.
The patient satisfaction remains moderate and a significant proportion required further surgery primarily due to recurrent stiffness or other complications.
These results highlight the need for a complete preoperative assessment, with systematic infectious workup and careful patient selection. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV; multicenter retrospective cohort study.