Vol. 10, Issue 4 (2024)

Introduction: Knee arthrodesis is a surgical procedure consisting of blocking an injured and painful knee by obtaining a bone fusion in order to correct a deformity or to obtain indolence. The objective of our study was to evaluate the impact of arthrodesis on the functional outcome of operated knees at the last follow-up.
Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective study that was carried out on 15 patients who underwent knee arthrodesis at the Idrissa Pouye General Hospital (HOGIP) in Dakar between January 2010 and December 2022, a period of twelve years. 15 patients were evaluated, including eight (08) men and seven (07) women. There were six (06) cases of ankylosis due to sequelae of osteoarthritis of the knee, two (02) cases of infection on PTG, four (04) cases of post-traumatic gonarthrosis, two (02) cases of post-infectious gonarthrosis and one (01) case of post-infectious stiffness. The mean age was 46.33 years, standard deviation of±17.04, (range: 18 - 67 years).
Results: For all 15 patients who underwent knee arthrodesis, no complications were found at the last follow-up. Among the 15 operated patients, nine (9) were very satisfied (60%) and six (6) were satisfied at the last follow-up (40%). All our 15 patients had an average International Knee Society (IKS) score. The mean for knee function was 57.4/93. The mean for gait function was 67.5/100.
Conclusion: Arthrodesis is often used as a salvage procedure for infected and non-reconstructible total knee arthroplasties. Our study allowed us to evaluate the impact of arthrodesis on the functional outcome of operated knees at the last follow-up.