Severe tibial bone loss in revision total knee replacement managed with structural femoral head allograft A prospective case series from the Royal London Hospital

Large tibial bone defects may cause problems at the time of revision total knee replacement. We report on 15 patients (15 knees) followed at a mean of 5.4 years (33–115 months) who underwent revision total knee replacement for severe tibial bone loss using shaped femoral head allograft and Freeman–Samuelson revision components (Zimmer, Winterthur, Switzerland). The mean American Knee Society Score pre-operatively was 22.7 points (0–45) increasing to a mean of 77.2 points (15–95) after operation. The survivorship for the series at 6 years was seven out of nine knees. One patient required an above knee amputation at 3.5 years, whilst another underwent a second revision TKR procedure at 3.4 years. Thirteen knees did not require further surgery and showed a mean time for allograft incorporation of 1.9 years (12–36 months) with no component migration.

Severe tibial bone loss at the time of revision TKR surgery is a difficult problem to treat. Our case series demonstrates that when shaped femoral heads are used as structural allograft along with long stemmed components a successful result can be achieved.