• Mats Molt, Andreas Harsten, and Sören Toksvig-Larsen.
• Department of Orthopaedics, Hässleholm-Kristianstad-Ystad, Sweden; Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Electronic address: mats.molt@skane.se.
• Knee. 2014 Mar 1; 21 (2): 396-401.

BackgroundA concern that arises with any change in technique is whether it affects the long-term implant stability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the early migration, measured by radiostereometric analysis (RSA), and the functional outcome of the Triathlon™ cemented knee prosthesis, operated on with or without a tourniquet. During the last decades RSA has emerged as a way to assess prosthetic fixation and long time prognosis. The method has been used extensively in both hip and knee arthroplasty.MethodThis was a single centre prospective study including 60 patients randomized into two groups operated on either with or without tourniquet. RSA investigation was done within 2-3 days postoperatively after full weight bearing, and then at 3 months, 1 year and 2 years postoperatively.ResultsThere were no differences between the groups regarding the translation along or rotation around the three coordinal axes, or in maximum total point motion (MTPM). At 2 years the mean MTPM (SD) was 0.71 mm (0.64) for the tourniquet-group and 0.53 mm (0.21) for the non-tourniquet-group.ConclusionsThe tibial tray of the Triathlon™ cemented knee prosthesis showed similar early stability whether operated on with or without tourniquet.Level Of EvidenceLevel I.Article SummaryArticle focus: A safety study for total knee replacement operated on with or without perioperative tourniquet regarding the prosthetic fixation. Strengths and limitations: Strength of this study is that it is a randomized prospective trial using an objective measuring tool. The sample size of 25-30 patients is reportedly sufficient for the screening of implants using RSA (1-3).Trial RegistrationClinical trials NCT01604382, Ethics Committee approval D-nr: 144/20085.© 2013.

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