Osteolysis and Wear in Total Knee Arthroplasty

Before 1992 (Peters et al. 1992), osteolysis was generally not noted in the orthopedic knee literature except as isolated case reports. Witiiin the past 10 years, however, there has been increased interest in wear and osteolysis as it relates to knee replacement. Several clinical and retrieval studies related to osteolysis in TKA have been summarized in Table 8.3. 

Incidence and Significance of Osteolysis in Total Knee Arthroplasty 

Whether in the hip or the knee, for osteolysis to expand, wear debris particles need access to the periprosthetic bone. From review of the ortiiopedic knee literature, it appears that cemented fixation of knee components is an effective barrier to particle access, and explains the lower incidence of osteolysis in studies with cemented components (Table 8.3). In this regard, much of the knee 

Osteolysis in the knee on A-P and lateral radiographs. A large osteolytic lesion is present in the lateral and anterior 

Not all researchers use the same definition of osfeolysis in their radiographic analyses, complicating the comparison of results between studies. Some researchers identify radiolucencies around fhe margin of an implant as a 

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