The "caviar" madreporic knee prosthesis.

The madreporic ("caviar") prosthesis is a hinged knee prosthesis that can be inserted without the use of cement. The surfaces of the intramedullary stems are constructed with contiguous spheres one mm in diameter. These spaces are filled by bone trabeculae and haversian bone, providing permanent biologic fixation. Experimental madreporic knee arthroplasties in dogs show that bone probes these surfaces and produces solid attachments. Histologically, the trabeculae remain separated from the metal by a fine layer of fibrous tissue. The method of insertion of the prosthesis is simple. Preparing the epiphyses before any bone resection avoids the possibility of rotational positioning errors. The form of the intramedullary stems offers good positioning in the frontal plane. The analysis of an initial series of 15 cases shows results that are far from outstanding. The 2 deaths, the 2 cases of sepsis, and the recuperation of only mediocre motion can be explained, at least in part, by the advanced age of the patients and the poor bone quality of the rheumatoid patients. Nevertheless, this type of prosthesis has 2 important advantages. It avoids the complications from the use of acrylic cement and allows for a revision operation for cases of failed surface replacement designs. Obviously further experimentation with noncemented designs will continue and definitive studies will be reported later.