Comparison of high tibial osteotomy and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in the treatment of unicompartmental osteoarthritis: a meta-analysis.

We conducted a systematic review of comparative clinical trials assessing the results of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in patients with strictly unilateral osteoarthritis of the knee. A literature search was conducted through Medline, Embase and Cochrane library. A total of 11 comparative studies were included. Pooled results showed: UKA showed significantly better results compared to HTO in terms of function results, however, no difference in specific knee score was observed; HTO got slightly better results of the range of motion; a trend towards an increased velocity was found in UKA without significant difference. Postoperative rate of revision and complications did not differ significantly between two groups. With the correct patient selection, both HTO and UKA show effective and reliable results.