Eighty-three Guepar valgus-hinge prostheses and 30 prostheses with collinear femoral and the tibial components were inserted in 97 patients at Vancouver General Hospital between March 1975 and May 1978. One hundred and nine arthroplasties were reviewed between January 1979 and April 1980, after an average follow-up of 19 months. It was found that the amount of bone resected made arthrodesis difficult, that there was a very high incidence of patellar instability and that the disintegration of the Silastic bumper created a severe chemical synovitis. The results were excellent in 32, good in 23, fair in 8, and poor in 30. Patellar subluxation occurred in 28 per cent of the valgus prostheses, and in 10 per cent with the straight prostheses; it did not occur with the straight prostheses in rheumatoid joints. The chemical synovitis led to failure with devastating complications necessitating further operations in some knees.