Abstract
Simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty may bring many benefits including lower cost, timesaving, and better post-operative satisfaction in patients with knee osteoarthritis. However, it has the possible risks of postoperative complications. There have been few reports regarding the effectiveness of simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty for very elderly patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and the efficacy of simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty for elderly. In the 2 groups of 85 years and older (≥85 group; 18 cases, 36 knees) and under 85 years (<85 group; 72 cases, 144 knees), preoperative data, intraoperative factors, postoperative complications, and clinical outcomes at 1 year postoperatively were compared. Functional score and patient satisfaction before operation were significantly worse in the ≥85 group. Early postoperative complications including the incidence of pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis and blood transfusion were not different between the 2 groups. Neither fatal complications nor hospital death occurred. In terms of postoperative clinical outcomes, range of motion, knee society score, and patient satisfaction were identical between the 2 groups. Although the functional score in the ≥85 group was lower than that in the <85 years group, the difference between pre and post-operation was similar between two groups. In conclusion, simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty would be safe and useful even for elderly patients aged 85 years old and over.
