Abstract
Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) surgery has had a troubled history. In the late 1970s high failure rates and the success of bicondylar knee replacement made UKA less popular. Failures were mainly caused by improper implant design, incorrect patient selection and inadequate instrumentation. In the last few years the advent of guiding systems for more accurate alignment, new implant design and better patient selection have improved results and renewed interest in UKA.
We present a retrospective study of two consecutive series of 60 cases of UC-PLUS SOLUTION UKA and 60 cases of SEARCH AESCULAP computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using ORTHOPILOT software navigation, performed between September 1999 and September 2001. The patients, 45 men and 75 women, had a mean age of 69.5 years (47–85) and the two groups were comparable in terms of age, sex, size, weight (60–85 kg), aetiology, pre-operative range of motion (mean flexion: 100°; range: 90°–140°), pre-operative IKS score, mechanical axis and Alhlback radiographic degrees. The mean femoral-tibial angle was 175° (range:167°–195°). All the operations were performed by the same surgeon. Aim of the surgical procedure was to obtain an ideal femoral-tibial angle of 180°, relieve the pain and restore a better range of motion.
The results showed an excellent alignment of the limbs with the computer-assisted system, but a better IKS score in the UKA group as regards range of motion, pain and walking.
