Robotic Technology Produces More Conservative Tibial Resection Than Conventional Techniques in UKA

Conversion of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may be relatively simple when tibial resection is conservative during the index UKA. However, with greater tibial resection, conversion to TKA may be complicated by osseous insufficiency, requiring stems and augments, and potentially compromising patient outcomes and TKA durability. Robotic assistance in UKA is shown to enhance the bone preparation accuracy. In our retrospective comparison of polyethylene insert sizes, 8-mm or 9-mm polyethylene inserts were used in 93.6% and 84.5% of robotic (N = 8421) and conventional (N = 27,989) UKAs, respectively. Aggressive tibial resection, requiring tibial inserts ≥10 mm, was performed in 6.4% of robotic-assisted cases and 15.5% of conventional cases. Robotic-assisted UKA more reproducibly achieved accurate and precise conservative resection.