Clinical outcomes of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty in the same patient.

Background: Osteoarthritis has become the predominant manifestation of arthritic conditions on a worldwide scale and serves as a significant instigator of pain, impairment, and increasing socio-economic strain on a global level. The ongoing discourse on the choice between total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) for patients suffering from anterior medial osteoarthritis continues to ignite scholarly controversy. Our objective was to assess and compare the clinical outcomes of UKA and TKA within the same patient, hereby offering a novel perspective on this topic.

Materials and methods: Fifty-seven individuals who underwent TKA on one knee and UKA on the other knee at the Department of Orthopaedics, First Hospital of Hebei Medical University between March 2019 and March 2024 were analysed for this retrospective study. We conducted a comprehensive examination and evaluation of perioperative laboratory assessments, radiological examinations, knee functionality, contentment levels, and postoperative complications within the two groups.

Results: Following surgical procedures, levels of hemoglobin, red blood cells, and albumin were found to be elevated in the UKA group when compared to the TKA group (hemoglobin: 121.2 ± 12.54 vs. 110.1 ± 13.21 g/L; red blood cells: 4.0 ± 0.47 vs. 3.6 ± 0.42 *10¹²/L; albumin: 37.7 ± 5.66 vs. 35.3 ± 5.23 g/L). There is a significant difference in the hip-knee-ankle angles between the postoperative UKA group and the TKA group (5.3 ± 3.46° vs. 4.1 ± 2.86°, p < 0.05). There existed no notable disparity in postoperative visual analog scale, knee society score, and forgotten joint score between the two groups. However, a remarkable variance was observed in postoperative range of motion between the two groups (116.4 ± 5.96° vs. 108.4 ± 5.32°).

Conclusion: We found that UKA resulted in less physical strain, less postoperative inflammatory response, improved joint mobility, although with less effective lower limb force line correction compared to TKA. Many patients have shown a preference for UKA and express higher levels of satisfaction with the procedure.