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.
Keywords
unicompartmental knee arthroplasty - unicompartmental knee replacement - osteoarthritis
- outcomes - implant design - UKA - UKR