Cemented vs Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty in Morbidly Obese Patients

Primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in morbidly obese patients has been associated with greater postoperative complications. Cementless TKA has the potential for biologic fixation which may provide more durable long-term stability.

This was a multicenter review of 298 TKAs in 292 morbidly obese patients (body mass index, >40) undergoing TKA, with 154 TKAs (149 patients) in the cemented and 144 TKAs (143 patients) in the cementless group.

There were significantly more revisions in the cemented group (n = 20) than in the cementless group (n = 1; 13.0% vs 0.7%). There was a significantly higher incidence of aseptic loosening in the cemented cohort vs the cementless cohort (9 vs 0 TKAs). All revisions in the cementless cohort were due to infection (0.7%).

Cementless fixation may be an alternative in the morbidly obese patient undergoing primary TKA.