KNEE REVISION (redo knee surgery)
Revision knee surgery is longer, more technically demanding surgery with generally less successful results than for the first knee replacement. Special equipment and techniques are required to help with the reconstruction. When surgery is performed for infection, two or more surgeries are often required to achieve the final revision knee replacement.
Above: A failed 17 year old knee replacement requiring revision surgery (left) and the outcome following surgery (right).
Bone loss is frequently encountered during revision surgery, which can leave the remaining bone weak. To address this bone graft may be required taken either from elsewhere in the body (autograft) or from bone donated from another patient (allograft).
It is not always possible to perform another knee replacement when the soft tissues and bone are severely damaged. Options used in this situation are limited but consideration may be given to stiffening the knee permanently (called a fusion) or removing the knee including an amputation.