Short-term survival of the cementless triathlon total knee arthroplasty in a young patient cohort

Background The purpose of this study is to assess the short-term survivorship of a new cementless total knee arthroplasty (TKA) design in comparison to its cemented predecessor design in a young patient cohort less than 65 years of age. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of all primary TKAs (cemented and cementless) in patients under the age of 65 at the time of the index procedure, in a single institution between May 2018 and May 2019. Primary outcome variables included aseptic revision and all-cause revision. Operative time was a secondary variable. Independent variables considered included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, implant type (cruciate-retaining (CR) or posterior-stabilised (PS)) and the use of cemented or cementless implants. Results There were 106 cemented TKAs and 152 cementless TKAs (Triathlon, Stryker Inc, Mahwah, NJ ) implanted. The minimum follow-up for all cases was 2 years (mean cementless 32.5 months, mean cemented 34.9 months). Of the entire 258 implants only 2 were revised. Both revisions occurred in the cemented cohort for prosthetic joint infection (PJI). The all-cause revision rate in the cementless cohort was 0% compared to 1.8% in the cemented cohort (p = 0.168). Operative times were significantly reduced from 62 min in the cemented cohort to 52.2 min in the cementless cohort (p < 0.001). Conclusion In a young patient cohort, the cementless Triathlon TKA demonstrates excellent survivorship at short-term follow-up with significant reductions in operative times when compared to the cemented Triathlon TKA.