Introduction. Bilateral total knee replacement can either be simultaneous, in which both knees are operated in the same sitting, in one day, or staged, in which both knees are operated but not on the same day. With appropriate patient selection, the potential benefits of conducting this procedure in a simultaneous fashion outweigh the possible risks of the procedure. Very few studies have evaluated the results of bilateral knee replacement in a single sitting in Indian population. Objectives. To determine the functional outcome after simultaneous knee replacement and assessment of the peri and post operative complications. Methods. Patients undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty in a single sitting by a single surgeon using standard technique and posterior stabilized cruciate substituting prosthesis. Evaluation was done using Hospital for Special Surgery Knee and Function scores. Results. The mean knee score improved to 85.81 from 67.83 and the mean function score improved to 83.15 from 69.14. Post operative complications included two cases of acute coronary syndrome, one case of psychosis and another of opiod withdrawal. Conclusions. Simultaneous bilateral total knee replacement remains an appropriate option in select patients

Introduction. The aim of this study was to compare the outcome between the first and second knee replacement in patients undergoing staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty. Methods. A prospective database of outcomes of knee replacements performed at Broadgreen Hospital was commenced in 2003. Data is collected pre operatively, 3 and 12 months post operatively and every two years thereafter. We identified 64 patients (26 male, 38 female) who had bilateral knee replacements and had at least one year post operative outcome studies. Data on pain scores, walking ability (score 1-6), use of walking aids (score 1-6), range of movement, instability, muscle strength, WOMAC scores, SF-12 scores, the Knee Society Radiological Score and length of hospital stay were identified. We compared data between the first and second knee operation. Results. Groups remained statistically comparable between the 1st and 2nd operation. Average score for post op walking ability was 4.83 (2. nd. knee) vs 4.51 (1. st. knee) (p=0.03). Average score for post op walking aid requirement was 5.73 (2. nd. knee) vs 5.46 (1. st. knee) (p=0.01). Patient's post op SF-12 scores were 54.26 (2. nd. knee) vs 52.45 (1. st. knee) (p=0.04). Average hospital stay was 4.73 (2. nd. Knee) vs 6.06 (1. st. knee) (p=0.05). All other data comparison was statistically insignificant. Conclusion. Patients have reduced hospital stay and continue to improve after the second procedure with regards to walking ability, use of walking aids and psychological well being. This may be because having the worst knee replaced first means improved walking ability and decreased need for walking aids after the second operation. Also patients have already experienced one knee replacement and therefore are less apprehensive and more familiar with the post operative physiotherapy and rehabilitation programme

Patients with severe haemophilia have a tendency towards recurrent haemarthroses resulting in chronic synovitis and leading to end stage haemophilic arthropathy. From 1997 to 2001 five patients underwent sequential bilateral total knee replacement. We compared these patients with 13 haemophilic patients undergoing primary unilateral total knee replacement. One senior surgeon performed all surgery using an identical prosthesis under similar surgical and haematological conditions.

We reviewed information regarding pre-operative medical condition, antibiotic prophylaxis, blood replacement requirement and tourniquet time were all recorded. The rate of post-operative complications and economic evaluation between the two cohorts was calculated. Functional results were assessed using the Hospital for Special Surgery knee scoring system both pre and postoperatively.

We have shown that complication rates following bilateral and unilateral total knee replacements are comparable and that there are no differences in the functional outcomes or complication rates between the two groups. Furthermore, we found that bilateral procedures were advantageous with respect to total rehabilitation times, length of in-patient stay clotting factor usage and cost efficiency.

The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of cemented TKR using either oxidized zirconium (oxinium) or cobalt chrome (CoCr) femoral components in patients undergoing simultaneous bilateral TKR. Patients involved in the study received one of each prosthesis, thereby acting as their own control. The hypothesis was that there would be no difference in the clinical and radiographic outcome between the two prosthetic materials.

Forty consecutive patients who were undergoing bilateral Genesis ll TKR consented to participate in the study. Patients were assessed preoperatively, at five days, six weeks and one, two and five years, postoperatively. The outcome measures included the KOOS, Knee Society Score, BOA Patient Satisfaction Scale, and radiographs at six weeks and one, two and five years. In two patients polyethlylene exchange was performed at 56 months from surgery during patellofemoral resurfacing. The four retrieved polyethylene liners were studied for wear with the aid of a stereo zoom microscope and an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). Both the patients and the all examiners were blinded as to the prosthesis type throughout the study.

Forty patients (80 knees) were included in the study. At five years, three patients were deceased and two had developed senile dementia. No patients were lost to follow up. At five years from surgery the CoCr knee was preferred by 41% of patients compared to 13% who preferred the Oxinium knee (p=0.009). There was no significant difference in range of motion between the two prosthesis at five days, six weeks or one, two and five years. There were also no significant differences between the two prostheses in any of the other variables assessed. The four retrieved polyethylene inserts showed similar patterns of wear in terms of both wear types and patterns under examination with both the stereo zoom and scanning electron microscope with no clear differences between CoCr and Oxinium bearing against the polyethlylene. There was no difference in the grade or incidence of radiographic lucencies between the two prosthesis at five years.

At five years after surgery the only significant difference between the Genesis II Oxinium prosthesis and the CoCr prosthesis was a subjective preference for the CoCr prosthesis by a higher proportion of patients. There were no unexpected complications associated with the use the Oxinium femoral implants. In the four retrieved polyethylene liners, no significant differences were identified between the two prosthesis materials in terms of detectable wear type and patterns. Continued follow up of this cohort is planned to establish whether Oxinium femoral implants have an improved survivorship compared to CoCr femoral component in total knee replacement to warrant the additional cost.

Purpose

Overall outcome of bilateral hip and knee arthroplasty in the same patient with special regard to scheduling, postoperative complications and follow-up under consideration of the underlying disease.

Method

More than 6000 primary THA and 5500 primary TKA were implanted at Schulthess Clinic since 1985, 8% of which in rheumatoid patients. Quadruple THA and TKA was performed in a total of 51 rheumatoid patients. Mean follow-up for knees was 8. 5 years (1–17), and 9. 5 years (1–18) for hips. 67% of implants were uncemented. In 21% of patients, all four prostheses were implanted within one year and in over 50% within a five year period.

Results

Taking revision of components as failure there were three infections (CLS hip, GSB and LCS knee), two aseptic loosenings (Endler cup, GSB knee), two recurrent hip dislocations, three knee bearing exchanges (LCS, INNEX), and four patella component removals (GSB, PCA).

Conclusion

Quadruple arthroplasty in the lower extremity showed no increase of failure rate compared to single or dual arthroplasty patients. The results of this study support the indication for quadruple procedure with early postoperative rehabilitation and full weight bearing. Data suggest a procedure with hips before knees and at least two weeks between arthroplasty operations.

About one third of patients who require one knee replacement have significant bilateral symptoms and will require surgery on both knees before achieving their full functional potential. The options for these patients are either to have one-stage bilateral knee replacements or two-stage knee replacements. Our aim was to compare the relative local and systematic morbidity of patients who had one-stage bilateral knee arthroplasty with those of patients who had unilateral total knee arthroplasty in a retrospective, consecutive cohort of patients to evaluate the safety of one-stage bilateral total knee arthroplasty. Seventy-two patients treated with one-stage bilateral knee replacements were matched for age, gender and year of surgery with 144 patients who underwent unilateral knee arthroplasty. We found one-stage bilateral arthroplasty was associated with significantly increased risks of wound infection, deep infection, cardiac complications and respiratory complications compared to unilateral knee arthroplasty. No increased risk of thromboembolic complications or mortality was found. We conclude that one-stage bilateral total knee arthroplasty is associated with increased risk of both systematic and local complications compared with unilateral knee replacement and therefore should be performed on only selective cases

Staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty is performed increasingly frequently but no data has been published comparing the specific outcome for the first knee replacement to that of the second. Pre-operative and post-operative Oxford Knee Scores (/ 48) were reviewed for each knee in a series of 91 patients undergoing staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty over a 5-year period. Pre-operative scores for the first total knee arthroplasty were significantly worse with a mean of 14.9 in comparison to 17.0 for the second knee (P=0.0083). While there was no significant difference between the mean post-operative scores for the first knee (37.4) and the second knee (36.6) (P=0.195), the mean improvement was significantly less for the second knee (22.6 points versus 19.6 points) (P=0.0045). Our results demonstrate that in patients undergoing staged bilateral knee arthroplasty, the second knee replacement is commonly performed at a lower threshold and functional improvement is less than for the first knee. This data will be important to inform the expectations of patients considering proceeding to bilateral knee arthroplasty after previously having undergone a primary total knee replacement

Orthopaedic surgeons vary in their attitude towards resurfacing of the patella in total knee arthroplasty. Few studies are available to assess outcome and patient preference. We evaluated post-operative anterior knee pain and knee preference in patients with bilateral knee replacements and unilateral patellar resurfacing. We reviewed 30 patients who had undergone bilateral knee replacement with patellar resurfacing on only one side. Follow-up was from five to 12 years and the patients were assessed using the Knee Society rating, an anterior knee pain rating and a satisfaction score. Patients were also asked specifically if they had a preference for either knee. Assessment was performed without knowing which patella had been resurfaced. Fourteen patients (47%) favoured the resurfaced knee, six (20%) the un-resurfaced knee and 10 (33%) had no particular preference. The overall prevalence of anterior knee pain was 50% in the un-resurfaced cases (six mild, six moderate, three severe) and 20% in the resurfaced knees (four mild, two moderate). No significant difference was found between knee scores. Three un-resurfaced patellae have been secondarily resurfaced. This study shows a significant preference for the resurfaced side (p< 0.01), with a higher prevalence of anterior knee pain in non-resurfaced patellae (p< 0.05)

Introduction: The use of simultaneous bilateral knee replacement surgery remains controversial–several studies have reported increased rates of complications, and the use of the technique remains in question. However, many of these procedures are not truly simultaneous, meaning it is difficult to draw accurate conclusions on the safety of this technique from the published literature. Method: A retrospective notes based review of all those patients undergoing bilateral knee replacement surgery between 2000 and 2005 at Harrogate District Hospital was performed. Patients undergoing both unicompartmental (UNI) and total knee replacement (TKR) were included. Procedures were performed by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and his knee fellow with one scrub team. The post operative morbidity and mortality was assessed both 30 days post operatively and also at six month follow up. Results: A total of 112 procedures were performed over the five year period. There were no deaths reported within the study group. Within the group there were 3 DVT’s, 2 superficial wound infections and one case of aseptic loosening at six months. Average tourniquet time was 76 minutes for the TKR group and 82 minutes for the UNI group. Average length of stay over the five year period was 8.6 nights (TKR) and 6.6 nights (UNI). Conclusion: Bilateral truly simultaneous knee replacement surgery is a safe technique with favourable rates of complications. It offers the benefit of improved efficiency with regard to both theatre time and length of hospital stay, which is valuable in the modern climate of economic strain within health services worldwide. It also offers an excellent opportunity to the trainee to operate independently within a controlled environment, and is favoured by patients–offering a single admission and rehabilitation period

Aims

Simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been used due to its financial advantages, overall resource usage, and convenience for the patient. The training model where a trainee performs the first TKA, followed by the trainer surgeon performing the second TKA, is a unique model to our institution. This study aims to analyze the functional and clinical outcomes of bilateral simultaneous TKA when performed by a trainee or a supervising surgeon, and also to assess these outcomes based on which side was done by the trainee or by the surgeon.

For 3 decades surgeons have vigorously debated whether it is reasonable to offer simultaneous bilateral total knee replacement (TKA) to patients. Even after this substantial period of time there remain no randomised clinical trials that have addressed this issue and thus, it remains difficult to fully evaluate both the relative risks and the absolute risks of bilateral simultaneous versus staged bilateral knee replacement. What has emerged over the past couple of decades, however, is an understanding that there is a subset of patients with substantial comorbidities such as pre-existent cardiac disease and advanced age for whom bilateral simultaneous knee replacement seems unwise. For younger or otherwise healthy patients the debate continues in 2016 and seems to be focused less on the data itself than on how individual surgeons come to reconcile the differences between Relative Risk and Absolute Risk. When data is pooled from multiple retrospective studies of simultaneous versus staged bilateral TKA there are 2 clear trends that appear in the data. First, the relative risk of certain substantial complications (cardiac, thromboembolic, neurologic, gastrointestinal, and death) seems to be higher after simultaneous bilateral TKA than after staged bilateral TKA. Oakes and Hanssen highlighted these differences in Relative Risk noting that for each of those 5 outcomes there was a 2 to 5 times greater incidence of these complications after bilateral versus unilateral TKA. At the same time, however, it is clear that for most medically uncomplicated patients the Absolute Risk of a major complication is still fairly low — it is likely that >93% of such patients can undergo simultaneous bilateral TKA without encountering a major complication. Individual surgeons and individual patients often view those kinds of statistics in markedly disparate ways. One set of surgeons and patients will view the Relative Risk as most important and be decidedly concerned about the 2–5 times higher risk of certain complications. Another set of patients and surgeons will look at the Absolute Risk as most important and determine that it is decidedly most likely (>93%) that an individual healthy patient will make it through bilateral simultaneous TKA without major medical complications. Overall the conclusions of Oakes and Hanssen from a decade ago remain relevant in 2016: the overall risk of a peri-operative complication is higher with simultaneous bilateral TKA … and this is particularly true for the risk of peri-operative death. While some surgeons and some patients will decide that the increases in Relative Risk is offset by the fairly low Absolute Risk of complications and thus, feel comfortable with bilateral simultaneous TKA, other patients and other surgeons will not

Introduction:. The safety of simultaneous bilateral knee replacement (BTKA) remains controversial. Some studies have proposed a higher incidence of serious complications, even death, following BTKA whilst others refute the latter. The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the safety of BTKA. Methods:. A computerised literature search was conducted to identify all citations, between 1966 to 2005, concerning BTKA. All the English-language abstracts were obtained. A multistage assessment was then used to identify articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria for the study. All randomised, prospective studies reporting the outcome of BTKA were included. Details of any reported data were extracted and extensive analysis of relevant variables carried out. Results:. 150 published articles pertaining to BTKA were identified of which 18 papers on 27,807 patients (44,684 knees) were included in the meta-analysis. 10,734 cases were unilateral TKA, 16,378 were simultaneous BTKA and 458 were staged bilateral TKA with at least 3 months’ time duration between the surgical procedures. The complications analyzed were DVT, PE, cardiac events and mortality. The incidence of PE (OR=1.8), cardiac complications (OR=2.4), and mortality (OR=2.24) were higher after simultaneous BTKA. The incidence of DVT was LOWER in the group with simultaneous BTKA. Discussion:. Based on the findings of this meta-analysis, simultaneous BTKA seems to carry a higher risk of serious cardiac complications, pulmonary complications, and mortality. This procedure should be reserved for the healthy and young patients

Introduction. The safety of simultaneous bilateral knee replacement (BTKA) remains controversial. Some studies have proposed a higher incidence of serious complications, even death, following BTKA whilst others refute the latter. The objective of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the safety of BTKA. Methods. A computerised literature search was conducted to identify all citations, between 1966 to 2005, concerning BTKA. All the English-language abstracts were obtained. A multistage assessment was then used to identify articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria for the study. All randomised, prospective studies reporting the outcome of BTKA were included. Details of any reported data were extracted and extensive analysis of relevant variables carried out. Results. 150 published articles pertaining to BTKA were identified of which 18 papers on 27,807 patients (44,684 knees) were included in the meta-analysis. 10,734 cases were unilateral TKA, 16,378 were simultaneous BTKA and 458 were staged bilateral TKA with at least 3 months time duration between the surgical procedures. The complications analysed were DVT, PE, cardiac events and mortality. The incidence of PE (OR=1.8), cardiac complications (OR=2.4), and mortality (OR=2.24) were higher after simultaneous BTKA. The incidence of DVT was LOWER in the group with simultaneous BTKA. Discussion. Based on the findings of this meta-analysis, simultaneous BTKA seems to carry a higher risk of serious cardiac complications, pulmonary complications, and mortality. This procedure should be reserved for the healthy and young patients

Introduction. The sit-to-stand (STS) movement is a physically demanding activity of daily living and is performed more than 50 times per day in healthy adults. Several studies have shown that the normal ‘screw-home’ mechanism is altered after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, these studies have been criticized due to their limitations of the movement being non-weight-bearing or atypical daily activity (lunge maneuver). We analyzed TKA subjects during a STS activity to determine if the internal-external rotation of their TKA knees differed from the knees of control subjects. Materials and Methods. Six TKA subjects (3 M, 3 F) participated following institutional review board approval and informed consent. One subject had bilateral knee replacement. Surgery was performed by the same surgeon using the same type of implant (6 posterior-stabilized, 1 cruciate-retaining). The control group included eight healthy subjects (6 M, 2 F). Retro-reflective markers were placed over bony landmarks of the torso, pelvis, and lower extremities, and arrays of four markers were attached to the thighs and shanks using elastic wrap. A digitizing pointer was used to create virtual markers at the anterior superior iliac spines. A nine camera video-based opto-electronic system (Qualisys) was used for 3D motion capture. Subjects were barefoot and seated on a 46 cm armless bench with one foot on each force plate (AMTI). Subjects rose from their seated position, paused, and returned to the seated position at a self-selected pace repeatedly for 30 seconds. Subjects did not use their arms to push off the bench. Only the STS portion of the task was analyzed. The start of the STS cycle was defined when the C7 marker began to move forward in the sagittal plane and ended at the point of maximum knee extension. Only the right leg of the control subjects was used for analysis. Results. Femurs rotated internally as control subjects rose from the bench. Two of the TKA knees displayed a similar pattern of internal rotation as the knees extended. However, four TKA knees displayed the opposite pattern, and one TKA knee showed no rotation. For ease of comparison I/E rotation was normalized to zero at full extension (Figure 1). Discussion. Our results of a reverse tibio-femoral rotational pattern in TKA knees compared to normal knees are similar to those reported in fluoroscopic studies in which a single leg lunge activity is performed. Finding a similar reversal in STS is significant due to the necessity and frequency of the STS activity during daily living and warrants further investigation

The timing of performing knee arthroplasties in bilateral osteoarthritic knees remains controversial. Our aim was to compare one-stage with two-stage bilateral knee arthroplasties (TKA). Between November 2004 and April 2008, 128 patients (72 female and 56 male) underwent one-stage bilateral TKAs. Another group of 115 patients that underwent two-stage procedures during the same period formed the control group. All patients received the same type of anaesthesia. Study parameters included age, weight, medical co-morbidities, length of hospital stay, blood loss, post-operative complications and functional outcome. There were no significant differences between the two groups. Co-morbidities and functional outcome based on the Knee Society Score were similar in both groups. In the one-stage group the length of hospital stay and blood losses were higher than the two-stage group; however less than double compared to the two-stage group. The early post-operative complications were higher but not statistically significant in the one-stage group. Despite the fact that the early post-operative complications are slightly higher in the one-stage group, this particular method is an effective way of dealing with bilaterally osteoarthritic knees. It offers excellent functional outcome at a reduced cost

Introduction. In a previous study of subjects with no history of lower extremity injury or disease we found a linear relationship between body weight and peak hip, knee, and ankle joint forces during the stance phase of gait. To investigate the effect of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on forces in the operated joints as well as the other joints of the lower extremities, we tested TKA subjects during gait and performed inverse dynamics analyses of the results. Materials and Methods. TKA subjects (3 M, 1 F; 58 ± 5 years; body mass index range (BMI): 26–36 kg/m. 2. ) participated in this investigation following institutional review board approval and informed consent. One subject had bilateral knee replacement. Each patient received the same implant design (4 PS, 1 CR). Data from previously tested control subjects (8 M, 4 F; 26 ± 4 years; BMI: 20–36 kg/m. 2. ) were used for comparison. Retro-reflective markers were placed over bony landmarks of each subject. A nine-camera video-based opto-electronic system was used for 3D motion capture as subjects walked barefoot at a self-selected speed on a 10 meter walkway instrumented with three force plates. Data were imported into a 12-body segment multibody dynamics model (AnyBody Technology) to calculate joint forces. Each leg contained 56 muscles whose mechanical effect was modeled by 159 simple muscle slips, each consisting of a contractile element. The models were scaled to match each subject's anthropometry and BMI. For the control subjects, only one limb was used in determining the relationship between body mass and peak joint force at the hip, knee, and ankle. For the TKA subjects, the peak joint forces were calculated for both the TKA limb and the contralateral limb. Results. Figure 1 shows the knee joint forces for the TKA subjects’ operated (red triangles) and contralateral knees (diamonds) along with the values for the control subjects (circles). Knee joint forces for the TKA subjects fell within or near the upper and lower 95% confidence intervals (dashed lines) of the mean regression lines (solid lines) for the control subjects. Three patients had other lower limb complications (osteoarthritis, ankle surgery). One subject favored the operated limb and another the non-operated limb, as ascertained from the corresponding hip (Figure 2) and ankle joint forces (Figure 3). Discussion. Modeling and simulation can be used to indirectly estimate joint forces in the implanted and non-operated joints. Our gait-lab derived inverse dynamics simulations suggest that joint forces following TKA fall within or near the normal range over a wide range of body weights and that the linear dependence between joint force and body weight applies to the implanted as well as non-implanted joints

To consider bilateral simultaneous knee replacement, both knees must have significant structural damage. It is best if the patient can't decide which knee is more bothersome. In borderline cases, ask the patient to pretend that the worse knee is normal and if so, would they be seeing you for consideration of knee replacement on the less involved side. If the answer to this question is “yes,” consider the patient a potential candidate for bilateral knee replacement. If the answer is “no,” recommend operating only on the worse knee, and expect that the operation on the second knee can probably be delayed for a considerable period of time. Strong indications for bilateral simultaneous TKA are bilateral severe angular deformity, bilateral severe flexion contracture, and anesthesia difficulties, i.e., patients who are anatomically or medically difficult to anesthetise, such as some adult or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients or patients with severe ankylosing spondylitis. Relative indications for bilateral simultaneous TKA include the need for multiple additional surgical procedures to achieve satisfactory function and financial or social considerations for the patient. Contraindications to bilateral TKA include medical infirmity (especially cardiac), a reluctant patient, and a patient with a very low pain threshold. When performing bilateral simultaneous TKA, both limbs are prepped and draped at the same time. An initial dose of an intravenous antibiotic is given (usually 1g of a cephalosporin) before inflation of the tourniquet. Surgery begins on the more symptomatic side or on either side if neither knee is significantly worse than the other. The reason for starting on the more symptomatic side is in case surgery has to be discontinued after only one procedure owing to anesthetic considerations. After the components have been implanted on the first side, the tourniquet is deflated and a second dose of intravenous antibiotic is administered (usually 500mg of a cephalosporin). After the joint capsule is closed and flexion against gravity is measured, one team completes the subcutaneous and skin closure on the first side while the other team inflates the second tourniquet and begins the exposure of the second side. When the second tourniquet is deflated, a third dose of antibiotic is given (usually 500mg of a cephalosporin for a total dose of 2g for both knees). Because of concern about the potential for cross-contamination of the knee wounds when instruments used during the final stages of skin closure on the first knee are maintained on the field and used on the second knee, they should probably be handed off the field and outer surgical gloves changed. Most patients will report after their complete recovery that they are glad they did both knees at the same time. A patient who has any uncertainty about proceeding with bilateral surgery should have only one knee done at a time. In many cases, the second side receives a “reprieve,” becoming more tolerable after the first side has been operated on

Introduction and Aims: Single-stage bilateral total knee arthroplasty is an uncommon and often controversial procedure. Recent reports have refined the data relative to bilateral total knee arthroplasty and complications, which include myocardial infarction, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolus and death. Method: A retrospective study of the cases of total knee arthroplasty performed by the senior authors in the last 10 years examines details of surgery and anaesthesia, pre- and post-operative management to identify the occurrence of complications. Patients also completed an Oxford Knee Score and a questionnaire relating to their experience of having a bilateral procedure. Results: While the outcomes and cost benefits of single-stage bilateral replacement are established, the risk of complications remains. This study establishes the low complication rate associated with this procedure in the senior author’s hands and documents the high patient satisfaction from it. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that, in selected patients, simultaneous bilateral knee replacement surgery can be performed with good outcomes without a definite increase in peri-operative risk

Single-stage bilateral total knee arthroplasty is an uncommon and often controversial procedure. Recent reports have refined the data relative to bilateral total knee arthroplasty and complications which include myocardial infarction, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolus and death. Less significant complications, including post-operative ileus and pseudo-obstruction are also more common following bilateral replacement. A retrospective study of the cases of total knee arthroplasty performed by the senior authors in the last ten years, examines details of surgery and anaesthesia, pre and post-operative management to identify the occurrence of complications. Patients also completed an Oxford Knee Score and a questionnaire relating to their experience of having a bilateral procedure. While the outcomes and cost benefits of single stage bilateral replacement are established, the risk of complications remains. This study establishes the low complication rate associated with this procedure in the senior authors’ hands, and documents the high patient satisfaction from it. The study demonstrates that, in selected patients, simultaneous bilateral knee replacement surgery can be performed with good outcomes without a definite increase in perioperative risk