Abstract
Eighteen porous coated posterior stabilized prostheses, inserted without cement or screws have been reviewed. Six were revised within two years. One was infected. The remaining five were revised for persistent symptoms considered to be due to tibial component loosening. Three of the four improved after revision with cementing of the tibial component, the other has remained symptomatic. One patient was lost to follow-up. Clinical review of the remaining eleven was good or excellent at two years. Radiographs at two years, available in eight, revealed that all had a non progressive I mm radio-lucent line at the bone- tibial prosthesis interface. The lack of bony ingrowth and apparent symptomatic early loosening in the four revised, suggests that posterior stabilised tibial prostheses may require additional initial fixation. From our experience in this short series, it is recommend that the tibial component of this prosthesis and perhaps any other posterior stabilized design, be cemented or fixed with screws.
The abstracts were prepared by Professor Jegan Krishnan. Correspondence should be addressed to him at the Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park 5047, Australia.
