No difference in anterior knee pain after medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in patients with or without patellofemoral osteoarthritis

Introduction: Anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty is estimated to occur in 4-49% of patients. Some orthopedic surgeons use circumpatellar electrocautery (diathermy) to reduce the prevalence of postsurgical anterior knee pain; however, the extent of its use is unknown. Materials and Methodology: In April 2009, a postal questionnaire was sent to all 98 departments of orthopedic surgery in The Netherlands. The questions focused on the frequency of total knee arthroplasties, patellar resurfacing, and the use of circumpatellar electrocautery. Results: The response rate was 92%. A total of 18,876 TKAs, 2,096 unicompartmental knee arthroplasties, and 215 patellofemoral arthroplasties are performed yearly in The Netherlands by the responding orthopedic surgeons. Of the orthopedic surgeons performing TKA, 13% always use patellar resurfacing in total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis, 49% use selective patellar resurfacing, and 38% never use it. Fifty-six percent of orthopedic surgeons use circumpatellar electrocautery when not resurfacing the patella, and 32% use electrocautery when resurfacing the patella. Conclusion: There is no consensus among Dutch orthopedic surgeons on the use of patellar resurfacing or circumpatellar electrocautery in total knee replacement performed for osteoarthritis. A prospective clinical trial is currently underway to fully evaluate the effect of circumpatellar electrocautery on the prevalence of anterior knee pain following total knee arthroplasty.

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High usage of medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty negatively influences total knee arthroplasty revision rate

Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy ◽

10.1007/s00167-021-06650-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Antonio Klasan ◽

Mei Lin Tay ◽

Chris Frampton ◽

Simon William Young

Keyword(s):

Total Knee Arthroplasty ◽

Knee Arthroplasty ◽

Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty ◽

Revision Rate ◽

Oxford Knee Score ◽

High Volume ◽

Unicompartmental Knee ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Medial Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty ◽

Total Knee

Abstract Purpose Surgeons with higher medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) usage have lower UKA revision rates. However, an increase in UKA usage may cause a decrease of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) usage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of UKA usage on revision rates and patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) of UKA, TKA, and combined UKA + TKA results. Methods Using the New Zealand Registry Database, surgeons were divided into six groups based on their medial UKA usage: < 1%, 1–5%, 5–10%, 10–20%, 20–30% and > 30%. A comparison of UKA, TKA and UKA + TKA revision rates and PROMs using the Oxford Knee Score (OKS) was performed. Results A total of 91,895 knee arthroplasties were identified, of which 8,271 were UKA (9.0%). Surgeons with higher UKA usage had lower UKA revision rates, but higher TKA revision rates. The lowest TKA and combined UKA + TKA revision rates were observed for surgeons performing 1–5% UKA, compared to the highest TKA and UKA + TKA revision rates which were seen for surgeons using > 30% UKA (p < 0.001 TKA; p < 0.001 UKA + TKA). No clinically important differences in UKA + TKA OKS scores were seen between UKA usage groups at 6 months, 5 years, or 10 years. Conclusion Surgeons with higher medial UKA usage have lower UKA revision rates; however, this comes at the cost of a higher combined UKA + TKA revision rate that is proportionate to the UKA usage. There was no difference in TKA + UKA OKS scores between UKA usage groups. A small increase in TKA revision rate was observed for high-volume UKA users (> 30%), when compared to other UKA usage clusters. A significant decrease in UKA revision rate observed in high-volume UKA surgeons offsets the slight increase in TKA revision rate, suggesting that UKA should be performed by specialist UKA surgeons. Level of evidence III, Retrospective therapeutic study.

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