Patients with retained hardware around the knee joint are more likely to develop arthritis and, in that case, may require a removal of some or all of the hardware to allow for proper positioning of the implants, making TKA more difficult. The decision to remove vs. retain hardware in a staged or simultaneous procedure may be a challenging clinical decision to make. Robotic assisted TKA has not been utilized previously for patients with retained hardware requiring a simultaneous ROH and TKA. Benefits include not only being able to accurately position the implants around the retained hardware, but to pre-operatively plan whether some or all of the hardware even needs to be removed. While there are concerns that CT preoperative planning may be obscured due to hardware, there have been several studies showing successful surgery with prior UKA, PFA or TKA (14–20). The successful outcomes of RA-TKA with prior hardware further supports CT guided RA-TKA with hardware around the knee is feasible.
In this study, RA-TKA allowed for significantly smaller poly sizes and a trend towards fewer cases requiring revision components for adequate fixation. These results suggest that RA may allow for less bony resection in these areas with previous hardware while balancing the knee. CT guided preoperative and intraoperative planning may in fact allow for more bone retention as the location of the ORIF hardware is precisely known. These results are similar to Yun et al. (15) who found robotic assisted conversion of UKA to TKA required significantly fewer augments, fewer revision components and a non-significant decrease in polyethylene thickness compared to manual conversion. Notably this was not replicated in a similar study by Lachance et al.(19) comparing robotic vs. manual conversion UKA to TKA. As thicker polyethylene sizes are associated with increased poly wear and need for revision(21, 22), the use of robotic assistance to predictably place smaller polyethylene components may benefit patients in long term follow up.
One concern for concurrent ROH and TKA is bone loss from the ROH, which may require increased fixation methods including stems and augments. In this series, there were no patients with early loosening, suggesting good fixation with primary and revision components. While not statistically, significant, there were more patients in the manual TKA group requiring stemmed implants, augments and cementation. Stemmed components may provide some benefit for patients after ROH through increased stability and reduced micromotion at the bone-implant interface, especially in patients with bone loss from prior hardware (23, 24). Stems are commonly used as a means to try to reduce tibial loosening in patients at high risk of this complication(25). However, if a patient already has a stem and revision is required for loosening or infection, there may be decreased bone stock in the subsequent surgery, making revision more difficult and requiring longer stemmed implants(26). Patients may also suffer from stem tip pain and have a higher risk for fracture around the stem(27, 28). When compared to shorter stems, long stems have increased stress shielding on the the surrounding bone. (29), (30, 31). Utilization of stems in a primary TKA also increases cost of surgical intervention(25). These findings suggest there may be some clinical benefit in utilizing RA-TKA for patients with previous hardware around the knee. Our study is likely underpowered to detect a true statistical significance due to the rarity of the case.
Between manual and RA-TKA, similar range of motion was seen postoperatively at one year. One patient in the manual TKA group with limited ROM required an MUA which did not result in significantly improved function. ROM has been a problem with hardware around the knee(32) likely secondary to scarring and thickening of the joint capsule and previous injury around the knee. The goal of postoperative ROM is generally around 110 degrees of flexion for symmetrical stair gait (33), which was reached by all but one patient in the RA-TKA group and two manual patients. Several studies have shown improved ROM in RA-TKA when compared to manual TKA(34, 35). RA-TKA has been found to have a reduction in the early postoperative local inflammatory response and pains scores (36). In theory, decreased pain and inflammation is thought to lead to faster recovery and shorter length of stay(37, 38). Notably, robotic patients were able to be discharged at 48 vs. 75 hours, suggesting potentially better early recovery directly after surgery, although there are a plethora of patient factors affecting this. Further study is required to determine differences in ROM for manual vs. robotic TKA in patients with ROH.
At one-year post-op, no patients in either group had a significant complication requiring revision surgery. However, our study was underpowered to pick up differences in infection risk. A recent retrospective review by Baker et al. evaluated a total of 16,099 cases and found a statistically significant increase in prosthetic joint infection in patients undergoing concomitant removal of hardware and TKA compared to staged removal of hardware, at 3 months and 1-year post-op, with an infection rate of 3.95% in the concomitant group at 1-year[39]. It was also found that patients who had their ROH performed greater than three months prior to their TKA had a decreased risk of infection. Interestingly, another study demonstrated that concomitant ROH and TKA is more likely to be done through one incision whereas staged ROH and TKA is likely to be done through multiple incisions(39). Despite the theoretical risk of infection or wound complications with multiple incisions, there was no difference in the rate of reoperation, complication, or revision between the concomitant or staged groups. While there may be a decreased infection rate in staged ROH and TKA, for select patients wishing or who may be better served by one surgery, our data suggests a similar rate of infection between RA-TKA and manual. These findings are limited by our small sample size.
Notable limitations include the significant heterogeneity in the type of retained hardware that was in place about the knee prior to TKA. Most notably, there was no standardization for patients that had all their retained hardware removed or had some hardware retained. In addition, different preoperative hardware may change how much bone is able to be retained vs. resected. The sample size is limited to the unique nature of patients with previous hardware prior to TKA. Surgeries were performed by six different surgeons which may slightly change instrumentation utilized. Range of motion was performed by several practitioners which is also an additional variable. Additionally, long term follow up is required to make definitive claims.
Taken together, our results suggest that simultaneous removal of hardware with TKA is a safe and effective procedure. RA-TKA may allow for the use of smaller polyethylene sizes with a decreased need for revision components, suggesting improved bone preservation. Similar range of motion and revision rates were documented at 1 year. Longer term outcomes are required to determine the efficacy and safety of RA vs. manual TKA with simultaneous hardware removal.