J Knee Surg 2018; 31(10): 992-998
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1625961
Original Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty: The Past, Current Controversies, and Future Perspectives

Sim Johal
1   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
,
Naoki Nakano
2   Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
,
Mark Baxter
3   Clinical Research Unit, Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, Glasgow, United Kingdom
,
Ihab Hujazi
4   North West Deanery, Manchester, United Kingdom
,
Hemant Pandit
5   Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
6   Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
,
Vikas Khanduja
2   Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

13 July 2017

27 December 2017

Publication Date:
07 March 2018 (online)

Abstract

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is a bone conserving and ligament-sparing procedure that reliably restores normal knee kinematics and function for arthritis limited either to the medial or the lateral compartment of the knee. Although there is enough evidence to demonstrate that the UKA offers good medium to long-term success given the correct patient selection, prosthesis design, and implantation technique, there are several reports to suggest inferior survival rates in comparison with the total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Furthermore, it is a specialized procedure which works well in the hands of the experienced operator and therefore different authors' tend to draw different conclusions based on the same evidence, and as a result, there is great variability in the usage of the UKA. The aim of this current concept's review is to present to the readers the history of the UKA especially with reference to implant design, discuss current controversies, and outline the future perspectives of this novel procedure.

 
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