Surgical treatment of unicompartmental degenerative arthritis of the knee.

The number of patients with unicompartmental osteoarthritis is increasing with the average age of our population. Good surgical techniques are available to improve pain and increase motion in the knee with degenerative disease. It is important to make early accurate diagnoses in arthritic patients so that the least surgically ablative procedure can be performed that will maximally benefit each patient. Total knee replacement is an extremely effective operation for relieving pain, but its major drawback is the large amount of bone stock that must be sacrificed during the procedure. Unicondylar knee replacement has proven itself to be an excellent alternative to total knee replacement in more limited arthritic disease. High tibial osteotomy still plays a major role as treatment for unicompartmental arthritis in younger and more active patients. McKeever interpositional hemiarthroplasty is an alternative in young patients when osteotomy is contraindicated. Arthroscopy is playing an increasing role in both diagnosis and treatment of unicompartmental osteoarthritis. The decision to perform unicompartmental arthroplasty, osteotomy, or total knee replacement is made on an individual basis. The extent of cartilage degeneration in the knee as well as the age, weight, and activity demands of the patient help to guide that decision.