This is the Swedish knee arthroplasty register report covering 30,003 primary knee arthroplasties performed 1976-1992. It describes registry structure, demographics, and Kaplan-Meier survivorship across unselected units. The goal is to benchmark implant performance and revision outcomes in average, real-world surgery.
When a unicompartmental knee fails, convert it to a total knee, not another uni. This registry showed uni-to-uni revision fails more often than uni-to-TKR (P<0.001). The same principle applies within TKR revision: a loose tibial component should be revised with a full both-component exchange, because isolated tibial swap leaves third-body wear behind and revises at a higher rate.
The headline durability number is worth memorizing. The best uni knees carry roughly double the 10-year revision rate of the best TKRs in unselected, average-surgery practice.
The value of a registry is biofunction data. It reflects the outcome of ordinary units rather than specialist series, and it can flag failing designs early, as it did for the anatomically designed and sliding meniscal-bearing implants that failed by wear and bearing dislocation.
Finally, revision risk is higher in young men with OA, which is why osteotomy remains a reasonable alternative in that group.
This is the Swedish knee arthroplasty register report covering 30,003 primary knee arthroplasties performed 1976-1992. It describes registry structure, demographics, and Kaplan-Meier survivorship across unselected units. The goal is to benchmark implant performance and revision outcomes in average, real-world surgery.
When a unicompartmental knee fails, convert it to a total knee, not another uni. This registry showed uni-to-uni revision fails more often than uni-to-TKR (P<0.001). The same principle applies within TKR revision: a loose tibial component should be revised with a full both-component exchange, because isolated tibial swap leaves third-body wear behind and revises at a higher rate.
The headline durability number is worth memorizing. The best uni knees carry roughly double the 10-year revision rate of the best TKRs in unselected, average-surgery practice.
The value of a registry is biofunction data. It reflects the outcome of ordinary units rather than specialist series, and it can flag failing designs early, as it did for the anatomically designed and sliding meniscal-bearing implants that failed by wear and bearing dislocation.
Finally, revision risk is higher in young men with OA, which is why osteotomy remains a reasonable alternative in that group.