Partial Knee Replacement

Partial Knee Replacement or Unicondylar Knee Replacement simply means that only a part of the knee joint is replaced through a smaller incision than would normally be used for a total knee replacement.

Unicondylar Knee Replacements have been performed for decades and developments in implant design, instrumentation and surgical techniques have resulted in this approach being considered as the procedure of choice for unicompartmental arthritis.

Unicondylar Knee Replacement Approach

Your knee is divided into three major compartments:

The medial compartment ( the inside part of the knee)
The lateral compartment ( the outside of the knee)
The patellofemoral compartment ( the front of the knee between the kneecap and thighbone)

In a uni-compartmental knee replacement, only the damaged compartment is replaced with metal and plastic. The healthy cartilage and bone in the remainder of the knee is left alone.

Advantages of Partial Knee Replacement

The benefits of a Unicondylar Knee Replacement over a total knee replacement (TKR) are:

Tissue preserving operation with less bone removal,
Faster recovery
Smaller incision,
Better range of movement
A more natural feeling knee
Minimal blood loss
Better function

Candidates for Partial Knee Replacement

Patients suitable for Partial Knee Replacement are those who are:

Suffering pain
Limited in their activity level by their arthritic knee
Clinically proven to have only one diseased compartment (X-ray and MRI confirmed)
Not suffering with severe angular deformity
Not suffering inflammatory arthritis e.g. rheumatoid arthritis
Not suffering an unstable knee
Not previous osteotomy patients

While a partial knee replacement can be considered at any age, the outcome of the surgery tends to depends on the type of arthritis, rather than your age.

Younger patients would benefit from bone preservation which is helpful if you need revision surgery at a later stage
Older patients would benefit from a smaller minimally invasive operation with less pain and bleeding, with an easier, faster recovery.