Rodriguez-Merchan EC, Ribbans WJ. Retrieval analysis in total knee arthroplasty. World J Orthop 2025; 16(3): 102160 [PMID: 40124734 DOI: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i3.102160]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Emerito Carlos Rodriguez-Merchan, MD, PhD, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital Universitario La Paz-IdiPaz, Paseo de la Castellana 261, Madrid 28046, Spain. ecrmerchan@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Orthopedics
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Orthop. Mar 18, 2025; 16(3): 102160 Published online Mar 18, 2025. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v16.i3.102160
Retrieval analysis in total knee arthroplasty
Emerito Carlos Rodriguez-Merchan, William J Ribbans
Emerito Carlos Rodriguez-Merchan, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital Universitario La Paz-IdiPaz, Madrid 28046, Spain
William J Ribbans, Faculty of Health, Education and Society, University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom and The County Clinic, Northampton NN1 5DB, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Rodriguez-Merchan EC was the author primarily responsible for the writing of the text; Ribbans WJ assisted in the writing and editing of the text; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Emerito Carlos Rodriguez-Merchan, MD, PhD, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Hospital Universitario La Paz-IdiPaz, Paseo de la Castellana 261, Madrid 28046, Spain. ecrmerchan@hotmail.com
Received: October 10, 2024 Revised: January 23, 2025 Accepted: February 8, 2025 Published online: March 18, 2025 Processing time: 152 Days and 21.1 Hours
Abstract
Retrieval analysis in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has been little studied in the literature. A narrative review of the literature to understand the current importance of retrieval analysis in TKA has been conducted. On August 27, 2024, a literature search was performed in PubMed using “TKA retrieval analysis” as keywords. A total of 160 articles were found, of which only 19 were analyzed because they were directly related to the subject of this article. Rotating-platform (mobile-bearing) TKA has no surface damage advantage over fixed-bearing TKA. TKAs with central locking mechanisms are more prone to debond from the cement mantle. No major wear of the polyethylene (PE) component in TKA using oxidized zirconium components occurs. Femoral components of cobalt-chromium roughen more than oxidized zirconium femoral components. The use of a polished tibial tray over an unpolished design is advised. At short-run assessment (15 months on average), antioxidant-stabilized highly crosslinked PE components are not clinically different in surface damage, density of crosslinking, or oxidation compared to standard remelted highly crosslinked PE components. A correlation between implant position and PE component surface damage has been reported. It shows the importance of optimizing component position to reduce PE component damage. Contemporary knee tumor megaendoprostheses show notable volumetric metal wear originated at the rotating hinge. Retrieval analysis in TKA renders relevant data on how different prosthetic designs described in the literature perform. Such information can help to improve future prosthetic designs to increase prosthetic survival.
Core Tip: Rotating-platform (mobile-bearing) total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has no surface damage advantage over fixed-bearing TKA. TKAs with central locking mechanisms are more prone to debond from the cement mantle. No major wear of the polyethylene component in TKA using oxidized zirconium components occurs. Femoral components of cobalt-chromium roughen more than oxidized zirconium femoral components. The use of a polished tibial tray over an unpolished design is advised. Retrieval analysis in TKA renders relevant data on how different prosthetic designs utilized in the literature perform. Such information can help to improve future prosthetic designs in order to increase prosthetic survival.
