CORR Insights^®: Loss of Cement-bone Interlock in Retrieved Tibial Components from Total Knee Arthroplasties

Excerpt

Most surgeons cement the tibial component in total knee replacement surgery. Mid-term registry data from a number of countries, including those from the United Kingdom and Australia, support the excellent survivorship of cemented tibial components. In spite of this success, results can always be improved, and cementing technique can play a role. Cementing technique on the tibia is not standardized, and surgeons still differ about the best ways to deliver cement into the cancellous bone of the upper tibia. Questions remain regarding whether to use a gun or a syringe to inject the cement into the cancellous bone of the tibial plateau [5]. The ideal cement penetration into the tibial plateau is debated, though most reports suggest that 4 mm to 10 mm is ideal [1, 4]. Thicker mantles are thought to be dangerous due to the risk of bone necrosis, but there is little in the literature to support this contention. …