PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Zmerly, Hassan
AU  - Russo, Marco
AU  - Moscato, Manuela
AU  - Akkawi, Ibrahim
TI  - Total knee arthroplasty in a young patient with achondroplasia
AID  - 10.1136/bcr-2021-242909
DP  - 2021 Jul 01
TA  - BMJ Case Reports
PG  - e242909
VI  - 14
IP  - 7
4099  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/14/7/e242909.short
4100  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/14/7/e242909.full
SO  - BMJ Case Reports2021 Jul 01; 14
AB  - Achondroplasia is a genetic skeletal dysplasia, characterised by dwarfism, with upper and lower limb deformities, that can lead to knee osteoarthritis; the surgical treatment is a challenge due to the particular joint anatomy variances. We present a 40-year-old woman, affected by achondroplasia with severe left knee osteoarthritis; the patient was treated conservatively with poor results. Between the ages of 12 and 17 years, she underwent multiple operative procedures for lower limb lengthening and a partial correction of the valgus deformity, by applying an external fixator. The patient was successfully treated with cemented posterior stabilised, fixed-bearing, total knee arthroplasty. The patient affected by achondroplasia, with severe knee osteoarthritis, should be considered for total joint replacement, which can be carried out with or without additional extra-articular osteotomy for alignment correction. Due to skeletal dysplasia in joint deformities, knee replacement requires careful preoperative planning and special technical considerations.