Newer prosthetic knees may put patients at risk

People who have severe osteoarthritis of the knee can buy Hyalgan to help them maintain mobility and independence. In extreme cases of this disease, joint damage may be severe enough to require a prosthetic replacement. While device manufacturers are constantly developing newer, improved models, research from Finland suggests that doctors can sometimes have difficulty adjusting to the learning curves of such innovations.

A study team from the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland was concerned that orthopedic surgeons were implanting patients with state-of-the-art prosthetic knees without ample evidence of their effectiveness and safety.

In order to investigate, the team reviewed the medical records of more than 22,000 individuals who had total knee replacements, using a newer prosthetic model, for osteoarthritis.

Results showed that the first 15 patients to receive newer devices were 48 percent more likely to need revision surgery, particularly within the first two years. However, future patients were not at greater risk, as published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

"Patients should be informed if there is a plan to introduce a new model and offered the option to choose a conventional endoprosthesis instead. Although introducing potentially better endoprosthesis models is important, there is a need for managed uptake of new technology," the researchers said.