Progress on treatment for patellofemoral arthritis

Abstract

As a common disease of knee joint disease, the diagnosis and treatment of patellofemoral arthritis has not clear clinical consensus at present, conservative treatment only has a certain value for the disease with early stage and single disease. With the continuous improvement of understanding of pathogenesis and advancement of surgical techniques, minimally invasive and joint replacement technology has been rapid development, more and more alternative treatment options could be chosen. Technique of osteotomy of tibial tuberosity and removal of patella at the early stage were seldom used. According to development stage of disease, and combined with age, economic capacity, patients considering knee joint functional requirements and other factors, the balance of soft tissue under arthroscopy and denervation for cartilage injury in elderly patients with grade I to III surgery is more appropriate, and joint replacement is effective for cartilage injury in elderly patients with grade IV. Early debate is focus on total knee arthroplasty whether exist excessive medical treatment, patellofemoral joint replacement meet to demand for replacement of single patellofemoral degeneration with improvement of prosthesis design. Due to technical difficulties of cartilage transplantation and anatomical characteristics of patellofemoral joint, report of application of cartilage transplantation for patellofemoral arthritis is less, but with continuous improvement of technology, cartilage transplantation will be a good method for improving clinical symptoms, reducing medical costs, putting off joint replacement time.