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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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History Of Infection In Knee Material After Knee Replacement Surgery. Advised Metal Splint Putting Into The Knee. Risky?

My friend in Germany is trying to find some information for her mum who had a knee replacement 2 years ago which didn't work very well and she got an infection in the new knee material. She is now looking into whether she should have another operation and has been advised that she will need a metal splint putting into the knee and she would like to know what the risks with this are, what the best way to get this done are and lastly where in Berlin she could get this done? Hope you can help
Tue, 23 Jul 2013
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Orthopaedic Surgeon, Joint Replacement,  's  Response
Hi, thanks for writing to HCM.

This is just to inform you that NO CONSERVATIVE METHODS (Antibiotics) of management will work in eradicating the infection from a prosthetic joint.

The only way is to REMOVE the prosthetic components and a 3-6 months course of I.V.Antibiotics are used based on the susceptibility of the isolated organism.

In the mean time, after removal of the prosthetic components from the joint, ARTICULATED SPACERS are kept in the joint so as to provide certain amount of motion in the knee joint.

After conforming that there is no focus of infection in the joint by all means (xrays, biochemical tests & clinical examination), a REVISION total knee replacement is performed. The success rate of a revision TKR is around 80%.

So this is the standard protocol followed in the management of an infected TKR.

Consult an arthroplasty surgeon with good experience in dealing with revision knee replacement surgeries.

Hope this information is helpful. Good luck
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History Of Infection In Knee Material After Knee Replacement Surgery. Advised Metal Splint Putting Into The Knee. Risky?

Hi, thanks for writing to HCM. This is just to inform you that NO CONSERVATIVE METHODS (Antibiotics) of management will work in eradicating the infection from a prosthetic joint. The only way is to REMOVE the prosthetic components and a 3-6 months course of I.V.Antibiotics are used based on the susceptibility of the isolated organism. In the mean time, after removal of the prosthetic components from the joint, ARTICULATED SPACERS are kept in the joint so as to provide certain amount of motion in the knee joint. After conforming that there is no focus of infection in the joint by all means (xrays, biochemical tests & clinical examination), a REVISION total knee replacement is performed. The success rate of a revision TKR is around 80%. So this is the standard protocol followed in the management of an infected TKR. Consult an arthroplasty surgeon with good experience in dealing with revision knee replacement surgeries. Hope this information is helpful. Good luck