Posttraumatic Total Knee Arthroplasty Continues to Have Worse Outcome Than Total Knee Arthroplasty for Osteoarthritis

Small studies have shown that patients who undergo TKA following a distal femur and/or tibial plateau fracture have inferior results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mid-term outcomes of a large group of patients undergoing TKA following periarticular knee fractures. We identified 531 patients who underwent a TKA following a periarticular fracture from 1990 to 2012; comparing outcomes to 19,641 patients undergoing primary TKA for osteoarthritis. Periarticular fracture significantly increased the risk of revision TKA, infection and complications. There was no difference in the need for revision TKA or infection based on fracture location. Patients with TKA following a periarticular fracture have worse overall revision free survival compared to with OA, with 1 in 4 patients requiring revision TKA by 15 years.