Patients at risk of knee joint complications when new technology is used

Orthopaedic surgeons face a steep learning curve to get used to new prostheses, and the instruments and methods that go with them, before new total knee replacement procedures are as safe and effective as conventional methods. Patients who undergo the first 15 operations using a new device in a hospital are 48 percent more likely to need early revision surgery, than patients undergoing an operation to fit a prosthesis previously used in the hospital. The work by Mikko Peltola from the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland, and colleagues, is published online in Springer's journal, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. MedicalXpress

Introducing a Knee Endoprosthesis Model Increases Risk of Early Revision Surgery   PDF