Revision total knee arthroplasty for aseptic failure

Twenty-four patients with 28 failed total knee arthroplasties replaced with porous-coated anatomic (PCA) primary or revision components were studied over a two- to four-year period. Overall, there were 68% good and excellent results and three failures. When evaluated according to mode of failure, 83% of the patients who had a definable mechanical problem achieved good or excellent results. Patients who had revision operations for incapacitating pain or in whom no clearly definable problem could be ascertained before operation were not significantly improved. Complications that led to poor results were deep sepsis, wound necrosis, and extensor mechanism abnormalities.