Deep infections occur in 1-5 % of all patients undergoing total knee a
rthroplasty, and may result in failure of the prosthesis and subsequen
t arthrodesis. Two-stage reimplantation is often successful, but depen
ds upon the presence of good soft tissue coverage. We have treated 9 p
atients in whom chronic infection developed which required removal of
the prosthesis, debridement, and implantation of antibiotic impregnate
d spacers for control. These patients all had poor quality soft tissue
cover precluding prosthesis reimplantation. The use of muscle flaps r
esulted in 7 of the 9 patients having successful reimplantation of a p
rosthesis and remaining free of infection in a follow-up ranging from
1-5 years.