Does Different Time Interval Between Staggered Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty Affect Perioperative Outcome? A Retrospective Study

Staggered bilateral total knee arthroplasty (BTKA) performed 4 to 7 days apart has been shown to have fewer postoperative complications than sequential or staged BTKA. However, there has been no comparison of staggered BTKA with different intervals. A retrospective study involving 79 patients who underwent BTKA from 2002 to 2004 was performed to determine whether the interval between each TKA influenced the clinical outcome. Staggered operations performed 2 days (n = 46) or 7 days (n = 33) apart had similar incidence of major (acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, etc) and minor complications (transient hypotension or low Sp_o2) throughout hospitalization. Perioperative complications in the first and second TKAs were similar when TKAs were performed with a 2- or a 7-day interval.