Complications of knee arthroplasty

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been one of the most beneficial surgical procedures in the history of medicine, with survival rates reported at more than 90% of patients followed up to 20 years. Despite outstanding results, the complication risk associated with TKA can have an extremely negative effect on patients, surgeons, and the healthcare economy. The rare complications are being closely scrutinized and monitored due to the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement program in the United States, bundled payments, and similar quality- and cost-containment initiatives. Given the needs of an aging population, TKA has become a standardized treatment. Governments, corporations, institutions, and individuals expect all TKAs to occur without any initial problems, to allow function at a high level within months, and to last indefinitely. It is helpful for surgeons to define modifiable patient risk factors, provide concepts for continuous practice improvement, and outline successful methods for decreasing complications and improving measured outcomes.