Revision Ankle replacement surgery
(R-TAR)
Approximately 10% of patients at 10 years will require a revision of their ankle replacement prosthesis. This can be for a variety of reasons such as infection, loosening, fracture or wearing out of the prosthesis.
Revision procedures can be major or minor depending on the problem
Revision can be a small procedure, but can also be a large undertaking, bigger than the initial ankle replacement surgery.
Most patients undergoing revision of their components will be sent for CT scans to plan custom patient specific jigs to help with the ankle replacement procedure.
The outcomes of a re-do ankle replacement surgery are unfortunately not as good as the initial operation. There are so many different types of revision procedure that it is not possible to provide estimates for success rates.
Figure 1: revision ankle replacement prosthesis
Figure 2: failed total ankle replacement prosthesis
Post-operative plan:
Surgery is typically a 1-2 night hospital stay
a nerve block is administered to help with pain
0-2 weeks: elevation at home, non weight bearing
2-6 weeks: weight bearing in CAMboot
6-10 weeks onwards: weaning out of boot and progressing to strengthening
10 weeks onwards: wean out of CAMboot and progress to walking in normal shoes. Ongoing recovery up to 1 year after surgery
Ankle replacement patients are typically monitored annually with X-rays
Download post-operative care guide
Risks of surgery
Swelling, stiffness
Infection and wound breakdown
Wound healing problems
Blood clots
Scar sensitivity
Further procedures including re-do ankle replacement (revision)
NB: all ankle replacement patients at Melbourne Orthopaedic Group are involved in research for ongoing development and monitoring of clinical outcome