Copyright
©The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Jan 18, 2026; 17(1): 114078
Published online Jan 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i1.114078
Published online Jan 18, 2026. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v17.i1.114078
Cephalomedullary fusion nails for treatment of infected stemmed revision total knee arthroplasty: Four case reports
Gregory M Georgiadis, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Promedica Toledo Hospital, Toledo, OH 43606, United States
Isaac A Arefi, Summer M Drees, Ajay Nair, Drew Wagner, Austin C Lawrence, Department of Surgery, The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH 43606, United States
Author contributions: Georgiadis GM contributed to project originate, supervised the writing of this manuscript, editing and revisions of the final draft; Arefi IA, Drees SM, Nair A, Wagner D, and Lawrence AC assisted with writing the manuscript’s first draft and reviewing the final draft. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
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: Gregory M Georgiadis, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Promedica Toledo Hospital, 2121 Hughes Dr. Suite 310, Toledo, OH 43606, United States.
Received: September 12, 2025
Revised: October 30, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published online: January 18, 2026
Processing time: 119 Days and 17.8 Hours
Revised: October 30, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published online: January 18, 2026
Processing time: 119 Days and 17.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Long stem infected revision total knees are challenging and are often treated with above the knee amputation. The authors provide a limb salvage technique for conversion to a knee fusion. A lateral approach to the femur and tibia with extended osteotomies allows for implant removal. A long cephalomedullary nail, supplemented with antibiotic cement, provides for a functional fusion. This a major surgical procedure that will likely involve blood transfusions and intensive care management, and post operative wound problems are common. However, if successful, patients can expect to walk with a shoe lift and a walking aide.