Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes of bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in two groups of patients: Group A had simultaneous arthroplasty of both knees, and Group B had staged bilateral arthroplasty. Group A (17 patients) had both knees replaced simultaneously in one operation, with osteoarthritis (OA) in 16 and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in 1 patient. Group B (22 patients) had two operations in a staged procedure, with OA in 18 and RA in 4 patients. Comparisons were made of functional score and range of motion (ROM) before and after operation, mean total blood loss, operative time, and duration of hospital stay. The simultaneously performed bilateral procedure did not influence the functional score, ROM after operation, or average total blood loss. But there was difference in operative time and hospital stay between the two groups. No increase in the incidence of operative and postoperative complications was found. Simultaneous bilateral TKA is efficient for the patient requiring bilateral knee replacements by our observations.
