M.: Survivorship analysis of total knee arthroplasty. Cumulative rates of survival of 9200 total knee arthroplasties

knee arthroplasties were performed at the Mayo Clinic. Actuarial analysis was used to estimate cumulative rates of survival. Use of a proportional-hazard, general linear model led to the identification of four independent var-iables that were associated with a significantly lower risk of failure: primary total knee arthroplasty, a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, an age of sixty years or more, and use of a condylar prosthesis with a metal-backed tibial component. When all four of these favorable var-iables were present (without regard for radiographic changes and non-disabling symptoms), the probability of an implant being in situ was 97 per cent at both five and ten years. The rate of success of total knee arthroplasty is affected by many factors. Since the first pohycentric prosthesis desig