Younger patients with high varus malalignment of the contralateral knee may be candidates for simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty

Purpose Bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is being performed more frequently. However, a consensus on whether simultaneous or staged procedures should be performed is not available. This study reviewed the clinical course of contralateral knees in patients who underwent unilateral TKA (UTKA) to determine which patients are candidates for simultaneous bilateral TKA (BTKA). Methods One hundred eighty-six patients with osteoarthritis who underwent UTKA at a single hospital between 2006 and 2009 (follow-up mean, 10.1 years) were retrospectively investigated. Age, sex, obesity, contralateral knee pain, Hospital for Special Surgery score, femorotibial angle (FTA), and Kellgren–Lawrence grades at the time of initial surgery were used to evaluate the risk for requiring contralateral TKA. Survival analysis and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were performed. Results Ninety-one patients (48.9%) underwent contralateral TKA. The FTA of the contralateral knee (CFTA) was an independent related factor (hazard ratio, 1.15; p