The present study describes and compares the early functional results after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) of the oldest-old population (aged over 84 years) and a randomly matched younger septuagenarian cohort so treated. We aimed to evaluate the early functional outcomes after patients' rehabilitation and the yearly requirements for hospital readmission and emergency room visits after TKA. We noted a similar length of hospital stay for octogenarian and septuagenarian patients, and we determined that both groups of patients were improving ROM (both flexion and extension) after the rehabilitation program (p < 0.05, in all cases), but there were no significant differences between octogenarian and septuagenarian improvement of the knee function (p > 0.05, in all cases). Patients from both age groups behaved similarly in terms of mobility before starting rehabilitation and after completion of the rehabilitation program. We noted that older octogenarian patients showed a higher one-year hospital readmission rate than younger septuagenarian patients, but similar early emergency room visits for both age groups. The findings of this study allow us to conclude that advanced age in itself should not be a contraindication for TKA.
Keywords: octogenarians; older; osteoarthritis; physical therapy; rehabilitation; septuagenarians; total knee arthroplasty.