Whether or not ankles can be replaced with reasonable safety has been the subject of debate. We present the results of a nationwide series of total ankle arthroplasties.
All Swedish hospitals that implant or have implanted modern three-component ankle prostheses reported demographic data and date of index and revision surgery to a central register. After the data had been introduced into a database, prosthetic survival rates with exchange or permanent extraction of components as endpoint were calculated.
Ankle replacement is a valuable alternative to arthrodesis. However, replacing an ankle is a demanding procedure and the survival is not comparable to that after hip or knee replacement. It is obvious that with increasing experience, the results -- including prosthetic survival -- will improve.
Copyright remains with the authors and publisher.
Whether or not ankles can be replaced with reasonable safety has been the subject of debate. We present the results of a nationwide series of total ankle arthroplasties.
All Swedish hospitals that implant or have implanted modern three-component ankle prostheses reported demographic data and date of index and revision surgery to a central register. After the data had been introduced into a database, prosthetic survival rates with exchange or permanent extraction of components as endpoint were calculated.
Ankle replacement is a valuable alternative to arthrodesis. However, replacing an ankle is a demanding procedure and the survival is not comparable to that after hip or knee replacement. It is obvious that with increasing experience, the results -- including prosthetic survival -- will improve.
Copyright remains with the authors and publisher.