Abstract

Periprosthetic joint infection is serious complication of total joint arthroplasty that is one of the most common reasons for revision surgery in the United States. Surgical treatment options have largely been divided between one-stage and two-stage modalities, which have their respective advantages and disadvantages. This article describes a prosthetic spacer technique that can be used as either a one-stage or two-stage revision for treatment of PJI and to report a case series of patients treated using this technique. The technique involves the use of vancomycin and tobramycin intraoperatively mixed with cement and Steinmann pins to secure new knee or hip components as a prosthetic spacer, which can be left as a one-stage revision or replaced in a two-stage revision depending on the patient’s clinical course. This technique was used in 20 cases of revision TKA or THA, which all achieved PJI eradication according to a Delphibased international multidisciplinary consensus definition. These results suggest this prosthetic spacer technique as a safe and effective treatment for PJI that provides the option of one or two-stage revision.