Clinical Utility to Follow-up Radiographs During the First Year of Knee Replacement Surgery

Primary prosthetic surgery for the treatment of gonarthrosis is currently one of the most prevalent surgical treatments in Traumatology. The Arthroplasty Register in Catalonia, which started in 2005, counted more than 60.000 knee prothesis until 2015. Regarding the peridiocity for taking control radiographs in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery, there is no consensus. This means, that in similar studies that evaluate the results of prosthetic surgery, there is a great variability in radiological follow-up protocols, especifically during the firts post-operative years. Given the high prevalence and the long survival period demonstrated by these implants, it seems reasonable to be able to establish the real value of the radiographs performed during the first year of follow-up after surgery. From this perspective, the aim of our study is to evaluate if conducting just two radiographs instead of five during the first postoperative year after the surgery, has any influence on the clinical and functional results of our patients.