Results of revision total knee arthroplasty after exposure of the knee with extensor mechanism tenolysis

The purpose of this research was to investigate the utility of 1 surgical exposure method, extensor mechanism tenolysis (EMT), for total knee revision, and to evaluate complications associated with this technique. Two hundred seven knee revisions were performed on 198 patients (9 bilateral) over a 3-year period (September 1997 to October 2000). The surgical exposures used were EMT in 203 cases, V-Y quadricepsplasty in 2 knees, and patellectomy in 2 additional cases. The complications associated with EMT were peripatellar fibrosis requiring arthroscopy, 7.2%; hematoma, 4.8%; stiffness requiring manipulation, 3.9%; patellar subluxation, 1.4%; extensor lag >5°, 1.0%; quadriceps tendon rupture, 0.5%; and instability, 0.5%. EMT is associated with a low complication rate comparable with or better than other exposure methods.