Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 15, 2025
In Vitro Application of a Wireless Sensor in Flexion-Extension Gap Balance of Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty
Published on: May 5, 2023
Excellent outcomes for lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: Multicenter 268-case series at 5 to 23 years'
Etienne Deroche1, Sébastien Martres2, Matthieu Ollivier3
1Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique, Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 103, Grande rue de la Croix-Rousse, 69004 Lyon, France.
Introduction:
Isolated lateral compartment osteoarthritis of the knee (LCOA) is 10 times less frequent than medial compartment involvement. Long-term assessments of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in this indication are rare, with small series.
Hypothesis:
Survival and functional outcome of lateral UKA in a large series are quite acceptable; the strategy is suited for isolated LCOA.
Material And Method:
A multicenter retrospective study in 6 French health establishments included all lateral UKAs performed between January 1988 and September 2014. Clinical data (range of motion, International Knee Society (IKS) knee and function scores, satisfaction), paraclinical data (radiologic angles) and complications were prospectively entered in medical files during follow-up and analyzed retrospectively at end of follow-up.
Results:
During the study period, 311 lateral UKAs were performed in 295 patients, using 5 fixed-bearing implant models. Twenty-eight patients died within 5 years, and 15 (4.8%) were lost to follow-up. The series thus comprised 268 lateral UKAs in 63 male and 205 female patients, with a mean age of 68.8±10.5 years, including 7 cases of post-traumatic osteoarthritis and 4 of aseptic osteonecrosis. Mean follow-up was 9.1 years (range, 5-23 years), implant survivorship with failure defined as all-cause revision surgery was 85.4% at 10 years and 79.4% at 20 years. At last follow-up, IKS knee score was 87.0 and IKS function score 80.2. Maximal flexion was 125°. 94.3% of patients were satisfied or very satisfied. The main cause of revision surgery was osteoarthritis in another knee compartment (66,7%, n=26).
Conclusion:
Lateral UKA showed good survivorship, comparable to medial UKA, with good functional results and excellent long-term satisfaction.
Level Of Evidence:
IV, retrospective cohort study.
