Metal-backed versus all-polyethylene tibias in megaprostheses of the distal femur

Abstract

In megaprostheses, the tibial component is rarely a source of failure. The evolution of these implants has followed standard arthroplasty trends moving from majority use of all-polyethylene tibias (APT) to high volume use of metal-backed tibial (MBT) components. We report the results of 72 endoprostheses using either MBT (n = 42) or APT (n = 30) implanted between 1994 and 2006. Failures of the implant related to the tibial component were isolated, and 5-year survival of the tibial implant of the MBT cohort was 94%, and for the APT cohort, 87% (P = .39). The difference in tibial component failures between the 2 groups was not statistically significant (Pearson χ(2) = 0.1535, P = .6952). Revision rates for the entire implant and infection rates were not significantly different between the 2 groups.