Uncemented or cemented femoral components work equally well in total knee arthroplasty

Purpose To study the pattern of migration and clinical results up to 10 years of uncemented versus cemented fixation of the femoral component in total knee arthroplasty. Methods Randomized controlled trial was conducted of 41 patients (23 women, 18 men) under the age of 60 years using radiostereometric analysis. Results About two-thirds of the cemented implants and half of the uncemented implants stabilized between 2 and 10 years, while the remainder displayed a small annual increase of maximum total point motion of 0.09–0.10 mm/year. At 10 years there were no statistically significant differences in migration or clinical results between the groups. Conclusion Uncemented fixation with titanium fiber mesh coating of the femoral component in total knee arthroplasty works equally as well as cemented fixation up to 10 years. An annual migration of 0.1 mm seems compatible with excellent long-term performance. Level of evidence I.