Clinical and radiographic results of the Total Condylar III and Constrained Condylar total knee arthroplasty

The Total Condylar III (Johnson and Johnson, Braintree, MA) and Constrained Condylar (Zimmer, Warsaw, IN) knee prostheses are nonlinked, semiconstrained prosthetic alternatives to rigid or rotating hinge prostheses for use in complex knee reconstructions. Forty-six Total Condylar III or Constrained Condylar prostheses were implanted with cement in 36 patients and followed for a mean of 5 years (range, 2-9 years). There were 25 primary total knee arthroplasties and 21 revision total knee arthroplasties. The knees were evaluated using The Hospital for Special Surgery 100-point knee rating system. Overall, 40 knees (87%) had a good or excellent clinical result, 2 knees (4%) had a fair result, and 4 knees (9%) had a poor result. There was one revision for loosening of a cemented, nonmodular Constrained Condylar prosthesis, and one knee had a debridement for a late, metastatic infection, but the components were retained. There were no mechanical failures in those knees that were primary arthroplasties, but two mechanical failures occurred in those knees that were revision arthroplasties. Radiographic review showed one asymptomatic loosening of a Constrained Condylar tibial component with an uncemented press-fit stem, and only 8 knees had scattered nonprogressive tibial bone-cement radiolucent lines. The Total Condylar III and Constrained Condylar semiconstrained prostheses are successful when used in complex knee reconstructions.