THE VALUE OF SKELETAL SCINTIGRAPHY IN PREDICTING THE NEED FOR REVISION SURGERY IN TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT

We have reviewed the results of (99m)technetium-methylene diphosphonat e (Tc-MDP) bone scintigrams performed on patients following total knee arthroplasty, In addition, (67)gallium (Ga) citrate scintigrams were carried out sequentially on 29 patients, Three groups of patients were identified: those with asymptomatic knees (undergoing scans for other reasons); those with aseptic or septic loosening; and those with pain without radiologic evidence of loosening, There was good correlation between the results of the scans and the final outcome, We conclude th at sequential Tc-99m-MDP and Ga-67 citrate scintigrams are useful for demonstrating the presence of aseptic and septic loosening in knee pro stheses, and pain with a normal scan appearance is probably not due to loosening or infection.