s / Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 20 (2012) S54–S296 S296 Arthroplasty and arthrodesis, the standard treatments, were avoided. Iagh treatment costs one-fourth the cost of the standard treatments and has no side effects, complications or deaths. Method: Pre-treatment evaluations included history, physical examination, MRI's, X-rays and blood tests including cbc, comprehensive metabolic profile, thyroid, IGf-1, and for females, estradiol, mammograms, CEA and ca125; and for males psa and testerone. Sixty per cent of the joints required arthroscopic debridement. Half of the patients required open excision of an osteophyte on the dorsum of the talar neck which caused impingement. Intra-articular injections of 5.0 mgm of Human Growth hormone(Omnitrope, Sandoz) were give weekly for 5 to 12 weeks. I.A. injections were made through an anterior approach after sterile preparation and local anesthetic injection in the subcutaneous tissue. No immobilization was used. Patients were kept non weight bearing on the treated side using 2 crutches and practiced active and passive assistive range of motion exercises twice daily at home and for the duration of injections plus an additional 4 weeks. Patients were encouraged to swim one hour daily. During treatment a patellar tendon bearing(PTB) brace was constructed and carefully fitted. This brace was worn for 6 months after completion of injections. Continuous passive motion and physiotherapy were not used. Results: Evaluations were made with serial X-ray joint space measurement; range of motion measurement with a goniometer; and visual analogue scale for pain scores. Thirteen patients(93%) had good to excellent results. One patient (7%) had no improvement and motion remained 0 degrees. It is unknown whether this patient had additional treatment in the future. Pain scores pre-treatment ranged from 4 /10 to 9 /10. Post-treatment pain scores ranged from 0/10 to 4/10; the average loss of pain was 5 /10. Pre-treatment motion ranged from 0 to 30 degrees. Post-treatment motion ranged from 0 to 50 degrees with and average of 14 degrees increase. There were no complications, side effects, infections, increased stiffness or pain; DVT, pulmonary embolism; or deaths. Conclusion: 93% (13 of 14) of the patients treated with iagh injections avoided arthroplasty and arthrodesis, the standard and more expensive treatments. No patient became worse. The safety, high per cent. of success, and its decreased cost recommends this treatment prior to considering surgery. This is a Level IV Study. Methods: Results: Conclusions: 591 EARLY RESULTS OF MINIMALLY INVASIVE MEDIAL UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY G. Sohar, L. Mecs, F. Greksa, K. Toth. Univ. of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analysis the relationship between the short-term results of unicondylar arthroplasty procedures and obesity. Unicompartmental replacement of the osteoarthritic knee is widely used in both the United States and Europe. Indications for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty usingminimally invasive techniques has been expanded. The advantages of this concept that only the abnormal joint surfaces are removed, the total amount of bone excised is minimal, and the amount of foreign material is also minimal. Methods: All the patients had predominantly unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) greater than 35 kg/m2. 96 unicondylar arthroplasties were performed in 2010 for osteoarthritis at the Orthopedic Department. There were 62 women and 34 men. The average age was 62 years (range, 52 to 74 years). Only the medial compartment was replaced. No other alternative procedures were done on the patella. When associated patellofemoral osteoarthritis was found total knee arthroplasty was performed. The follow-up examination included the American Knee Society score, physical assessment, and radiological evaluation. Pre-, post-operative and follow-up radiographs were analyzed to assess further degenerative changes. The relationship between the clinical result and body mass index was analysed. Results: Thirtytwo patients had BMI's higher than 35 kg/m2, the remaining 64 patients had lower BMIs. In both BMI group, 1-1 knees were revised to total knee arthroplasty. The current two-year survival rate for fixed bearing unicondylar knee arthroplasty is 98%. Conclusions: Properly selecting the patient for unicondylar knee arthroplasty is important in providing similar short term outcome for obese and non-obese patients. The unicondylar knee arthroplasty is a less extensive surgical option, which results in a faster postoperative recovery. It is designed to treat knee joints with osteoarthritis limited to one compartment. There was no significant difference between the American Knee Society scores between the two surviving BMI groups. All components were radiographically stable.