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Partial knee replacements are
designed to replace only the abnormal part of the knee joint instead of the entire joint. These are suitable where the degenerative
changes are localised to one compartment of the knee. The
knee joint is a complex joint formed between the lower end of thigh bone (femur) and the top end of the leg bone (tibia).
The lower end of femur is like an hourglass in cross section forming two rounded condyles. These articulate with the tibia
to form the medial (inner) and the lateral (outer) compartment of the knee. In addition, the knee cap (patella) articulates with the lower of femur to form the patellofemoral
joint. This makes a total of three parts in the knee joint – 1. Medial tibio femoral joint 2. Lateral tibio
femoral joint 3. Patellofemoral joint Each of these joints can be resurfaced individually, as long as the other two parts of the knee joint
are relatively intact and not causing any clinical symptoms.
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Advantages of partial knee replacement (unicompartmental knee replacement)
1. The main advantage of doing partial knee replacements is that most of the knee joint surface, and all the ligaments are left intact, hence providing a more physiological function.
2. The incision for surgery is generally smaller, and involves lesser trauma to the tissues compared to total knee replacements. The recovery is faster and there is less postoperative discomfort.
Disadvantages
1. Progression of arthritis in the remaining part of the knee joint can cause recurrence pain, and this requires conversion to a total knee replacement.
2. The predictability of partial knee replacements to provide long term pain relief is not as good as total knee replacements. A small percentage need to be converted to total knee replacement for this reason.
3. Careful selection of patients is critical to achieve the best outcome and minimise suboptimal results.
The risks of partial knee replacement surgery are largely similar to total knee replacement
If you have further questions, please use the ‘contact and feedback' link, and I will be delighted to respond to any comments, questions or concerns.
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