Learning Curve With Minimally Invasive Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty
Received 10 November 2008; accepted 8 May 2009. published online 06 July 2009.
Abstract
This study examined 445 consecutive minimally invasive unicompartmental knee arthroplasties (UKAs) from one institution to determine whether revision and reoperation rates would decrease as the number of cases performed increased, indicating the presence of a learning curve with this procedure. At a mean of 3.25 years, 26 knees required revision yielding an overall revision rate of 5.8%; survivorship at 2 years with revision as an end point was 96% ± 1.7%. Both revisions and reoperations decreased over time but not significantly. For the first half of UKA cases performed vs the second half, revision rates fell from 5.0% to 2.5%, and reoperation rates fell from 8.1% to 5.4%. These data demonstrate that despite modifications made to improve surgical technique across time, a substantial complication rate with this procedure persists.
Anderson Orthopedic Research Institute, Alexandria, Virginia
Reprint requests: William G. Hamilton, MD, Anderson Orthopedic Research Institute, P.O. Box 7088, Alexandria, VA 22307 or via Express Mail: Anderson Orthopedic Research Institute, 2501 Parkers Ln, Suite 200, Alexandria, VA 22306.
This research was conducted by the Anderson Orthopedic Research Institute and was made possible, in part, by general research funding provided by the Inova Health System and by a cooperative agreement that was awarded and administered by the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, under contract number W81XWH-05-2-0079.
ABSTRACT