One- or two-stage exchange of infected total knee arthroplasty: Are failure cases contributive

The treatment of an infected total knee arthroplasty requires in most cases the removal of the implant. A short delay two-stage exchange using with or without a spacer in the interval, appears to many surgeons as the optimal method of treatment of these infections. This conviction is based on the hypothesis that, after removal of the implant, adequate debridement and antibiotherapy, the reimplantation will be made in sterilised bone, resulting in an increased healing rate. This theoretic advantage has not yet been demonstrated.