Aims. Despite the increasing numbers of ankle arthroplasties, there are limited studies on their survival and comparisons between different implants. The primary aim of this study was to determine the failure rates of primary ankle arthroplasties commonly used in the UK. Methods. A data linkage study combined National Joint Registry (NJR) data and NHS Digital data. The primary outcome of failure was defined as the removal or exchange of any components of the implanted device. Life tables and Kaplan-Meier survival charts were used to illustrate survivorship. Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to compare failure rates between 1 April 2010 and 31 December 2018. Results. Overall, 5,562 primary ankle arthroplasties were recorded in the NJR. Linked data show a one-year survivorship of 98.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 98.4% to 99.0%), five-year survival in 2,725 patients of 90.2% (95% CI 89.2% to 91.1%), and ten-year survival in 199 patients of 86.2% (95% CI 84.6% to 87.6%). The five-year survival for fixed-bearing implants was 94.3% (95% CI 91.3% to 96.3%) compared to 89.4% (95% CI 88.3% to 90.4%) for mobile-bearing implants. A Cox regression model for all implants with over 100 implantations using the implant with the best survivorship (Infinity) as the reference, only the STAR (hazard ratio (HR) 1.60 (95% CI 0.87 to 2.96)) and INBONE (HR 0.38 (95% CI 0.05 to 2.84)) did not demonstrate worse survival at three and five years. Conclusion. Ankle arthroplasties in the UK have a five-year survival rate of 90.2%, which is lower than recorded on the NJR, because we have shown that approximately one-third of ankle arthroplasty failures are not reported to the NJR. There are statistically significant differences in survival between different implants. Fixed-bearing implants appear to demonstrate higher survivorship than mobile-bearing implants. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2023;105-B(3):301–306

Aims. The Vantage Total Ankle System is a fourth-generation low-profile fixed-bearing implant that has been available since 2016. We aimed to describe our early experience with this implant. Methods. This is a single-centre retrospective review of patients who underwent primary total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) with a Vantage implant between November 2017 and February 2020, with a minimum of two years’ follow-up. Four surgeons contributed patients. The primary outcome was reoperation and revision rate of the Vantage implant at two years. Secondary outcomes included radiological alignment, peri-implant complications, and pre- and postoperative patient-reported outcomes. Results. There were 168 patients (171 ankles) included with a mean follow-up of 2.81 years (2 to 4.6) and mean age of 63.0 years (SD 9.4). Of the ten ankles with implant failure (5.8%), six had loosening of the tibial component. In the remaining four failed implants, one was due to periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), one was due to loosening of the talar component, and two were due to loosening of both the tibial and talar components. Seven patients underwent reoperation: irrigation and debridement for superficial infection (n = 4); bone grafting for cysts (n = 2); and open reduction internal fixation (n = 1). Asymptomatic peri-implant lucency/subsidence occurred in 20.1% of ankles, with the majority involving the tibial component (n = 25). There were statistically significant improvements in PROMs in all domains. Conclusion. Short-term results of this implant demonstrate early survival comparable to the reported survivorship of similar low-profile, non-stemmed implants. Radiological lucency occurred more commonly at the tibial component, and revisions occurred primarily due to loosening of the tibial component. Further research is needed to evaluate longer-term survivorship. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2023;105-B(10):1099–1107

Aims

This study reports updates the previously published two-year clinical, functional, and radiological results of a group of patients who underwent transfibular total ankle arthroplasty (TAA), with follow-up extended to a minimum of five years.