Do porous tantalum implants help preserve bone?: evaluation of tibial bone density surrounding tantalum tibial implants in TKA.

Background: TKA with conventional metal-backed tibial implants subjects the tibial metaphysis to stress shielding, with resultant loss of bone density.

Questions/purposes: We hypothesized tibial bone mineral density in patients with porous tantalum (trabecular metal) tibial baseplates would (1) more closely parallel tibial bone mineral density in the nonoperative control limb and (2) be better maintained than in conventional historical controls.

Patients And Methods: We prospectively followed 41 patients (35 men, six women) 60 years of age or younger undergoing TKA with uncemented trabecular metal tibial components.