At the Knee Society meeting on March 13, 2010, in New Orleans, Louisiana, several papers reviewed the outcomes of partial knee replacement, also known as unicompartmental knee replacement. There were excellent outcomes reported both for fixed bearing as well as mobile bearing unicompartmental replacements, as well as good results for patellofemoral replacement. All authors concurred that patient selection and surgical technique are very important in the outcome of unicompartmental replacement. The results are very similar to total knee replacement for the first 10 years, but in some series, unicompartmental replacements have failed at a higher rate after 10 years. Most people have come to the conclusion that partial knee replacements are a suitable option for the younger patient with one-compartment disease as the first of potentially several knee replacement type operations, and in the elderly individual as perhaps the only replacement that will be necessary. Ten percent of patients undergoing knee replacement are candidates for a unicompartmental or partial knee replacement. You can discuss these options with your surgeon.
Do you perform or do you know of any orthopedic physician in the Seattle/Tacoma area performing a robotic assisted partial knee replacement?
Dear Waldo,
Not that I am aware of, the results are too early to recommend…for or against.
Good Luck,
William Barrett
I had ACL reconstruction and was told I had arthritis under my knee cap. I believe it is isolated arthritis and think I might be a candidate for Patellofemoral Joint Replacement. Is this a surgery the Valley Ortho Joint Center performs if the candidate qualifies. I’m an active 55 year old and feeling severly limited in what I can do physically. I’m not sure if this is the proper forum as this is not a reply
Dear Mary,
We do perform patellofemoral replacements at Valley Medical Center. The indications are fairly restrictive.
Regards,
William Barrett