Reconsideration of the indications for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty

Abstract

Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA), a procedure that has gradually emerged in recent years, is considered an effective treatment for resolving knee pain and restoring good function due to its significant clinical advantages. In the 1980s, Kozinn and Scott proposed the classic indications as selection criteria to identify ideal candidates for UKA. However, as treatment concepts, surgical instruments, surgical techniques, and prosthesis designs for this disease have improved, these indications proposed more than 30 years ago appear too limited, leading to some limitations in the widespread use of UKA. Specifically, surgeons have offered new perspectives on issues related to obesity, age, patellofemoral arthritis, severe varus deformity of the knee, anterior cruciate ligament deficiency, flexion contracture, failed high tibial osteotomy and post-traumatic arthritis. For this reason, this article will briefly discuss modern perspectives involving the indications for UKA based on current evidence with the aim of providing a reference for the reader.