Fusion rate of 89% after knee arthrodesis using an intramedullary nail: a mono-centric retrospective review of 48 cases

Purpose Knee arthrodesis is an established procedure for limb salvage in cases of recurrent infection, total knee arthroplasty soft tissue defect, poor bone stock or a deficient extensor mechanism. Surgical options include compression plate, external fixator and arthrodesis nail. Different types of nail exist: long fusion nail, short modular nail and bridging nail. This study presents the results on knee arthrodesis using different types of intramedullary nails. The aim is to assess if a specific type of nail has a better fusion rate, clinical outcome and lower complication rate. Methods A mono-centric retrospective study of 48 knees arthrodesis was performed between 2000 and 2018. 15 T2 ™ Arthrodesis Nail, 6 OsteoBridge ® Knee Arthrodesis and 27 Wichita ® fusion nail were used. The mean clinic and radiological follow-up was 9.8 ± 3.8 years (2.6–18 years). Results Fusion rate was 89.6%. Time to fusion was 6.9 months. Mean Parker score was 6.9/9 points. Visual Analogic Scale was 1.9. The Wichita ® fusion nail showed better results in terms of fusion, time to fusion and clinical outcome measured by Parker score and VAS but without statistical significance. The early revision rate was 10.4% and 20.8% presented a late complication requiring a surgery, due to nonunion or infection. 93.3% of infection was cured. Two patients live with a fistula (4.2%) and 1 was amputated (2.1%). Conclusion Although burdened by a big complication rate, knee arthrodesis with an intramedullary nail provides satisfactory results and is a good alternative to above-knee-amputation. The Wichita ® fusion nail shows a tendency to better results compared to the two other nails. Level of evidence Case series, level IV