Background: There exist very few long-term follow-up studies, on total ankle replacement (TAR). In the present study a cohort of rheumatoid arthritic (RA) were followed for up to 23 years.
Methods: Thirty-three TAR were performed in 26 RA patients from 1980 to 1993. Removal of the prostheses and radiolucency was considered endpoints. All patients were followed to prosthesis failure or until death of the patients or until January 2008.
Results: Two patients with 3 prostheses were still alive with their prosthesis in place. Eighteen patients with 23 prostheses had died with their prosthesis in place. Two patients had their ipsilateral leg amputated 12 and 14 years after operation of unrelated causes. Five prostheses in 4 patients had been removed. The 10 years prosthesis survival was 85%, when removal is the endpoint.
Conclusions: The long-term survival of this first generation type of TAR adds some optimism to the development of TAR.