Antibiotic impregnated total femur spacers: a technical tip

Simultaneous prosthetic joint infection of ipsilateral hip and knee arthroplasties is often accompanied by significant bone loss and presents a challenging reconstructive problem. Two-stage reconstruction is favored and requires the placement of a total femur spacer, which is not a commercially avai...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Colin D. Canham, MD, Christopher P. Walsh, MD, Stephen J. Incavo, MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-03-01
Series:Arthroplasty Today
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235234411730050X
Description
Summary:Simultaneous prosthetic joint infection of ipsilateral hip and knee arthroplasties is often accompanied by significant bone loss and presents a challenging reconstructive problem. Two-stage reconstruction is favored and requires the placement of a total femur spacer, which is not a commercially available device. We describe a surgical technique, reporting on 2 cases in which a customized total femur antibiotic impregnated spacer was created by combining an articulating knee spacer and an articulating hip spacer with a reinforced cement dowel construct connecting the 2 spacers. Custom total femoral spacers are useful in the management of infected femoral megaprostheses and cases with ipsilateral injected hip and knee arthroplasties and severe femoral bone loss. Keywords: total femur spacer, revision arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, prosthetic joint infection
ISSN:2352-3441