Introduction:. Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty has been shown to have lower morbidity, quicker rehabilitation and more normal kinematics compared to conventional TKA, but subchondral defects, or severe osteoarthritic changes, of the medial compartment may complicate component positioning. Successful UKA in these patients requires proper planning and exact placement of the components to ensure adequate and stable fixation and proper postoperative kinematics. This study presents a series of three patients with spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee receiving a UKA with CT-based haptic robotic guidance. Methods:. This series includes two females and one male with spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle who underwent outpatient mini-incision medial UKA using the MAKO Surgical Rio Robotic Arm System. Pre-operatively all patients were found to have pain with weight bearing that would not improve despite non-arthroplasty treatment. Results:. The first patient was a 69 year old female (BMI of 22.85) with a left medial femur size 3, tibia size 4, bearing size 4×8 mm. The patient improved her ROM from 3–112° pre-operatively to 0–130° at 18 months post-operatively. The second patient was a 69 year old female (BMI of 25.68) with a right medial size 2 femur and 3 tibia and a 3×9 mm bearing. ROM increased from 0–120° pre-operatively to 0–145° at 2 year follow-up. The third patient was a 74 year old male (BMI of 26.5) who underwent previous knee arthroscopy with subsequent SPONK. Conclusion:. The difficulty in treatment of SPONK with UKA solutions includes planning for the full coverage of the ON lesions while also addressing alignment, tracking and balancing needs simultaneously. Using the advanced planning tools of the MAKO Rio software, full coverage of ON lesions can be safely planned and verified preoperatively. The intraoperative flexibility of the system allows surgeon to map out the lesions intraoperatively, where visible, and aid in the proper implant positioning and size adjustment as necessary

The role of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SONK) remains controversial, even though SONK usually involves only medial compartment of the knee joint. We aimed to compare the survival rate and clinical outcomes of UKA in SONK and medial compartment osteoarthritis (MOA) via a meta-analysis of previous studies. MEDLINE database in PubMed, the Embase database, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to January 2018 with keywords related to SONK and UKA. Studies were selected with predetermined inclusion criteria: (1) medial UKA as the primary procedure, (2) reporting implant survival or clinical outcomes of osteonecrosis and osteoarthritis, and (3) follow-up period greater than 1 year. Quality assessment was performed using the risk of bias assessment tool for non-randomised studies (RoBANs). A random effects model was used to estimate the pooled relative risk (RR) and standardised mean difference. The incidence of UKA revision for any reason was significantly higher in SONK than in MOA group (pooled RR = 1.83, p = 0.009). However, the risk of revision due to aseptic loosening and all- cause re-operation was not significantly different between the groups. Moreover, when stratified by the study quality, high quality studies showed similar risk of overall revision in SONK and MOA (p = 0.71). Subgroup analysis revealed worse survival of SONK, mainly related to high failure after uncemented UKA. Clinical outcomes after UKA were similar between SONK and MOA (p = 0.66). Cemented UKA has similar survival and clinical outcomes in SONK and MOA. Prospective studies designed specifically to compare the UKA outcomes in SONK and MOA are necessary

Bone marrow lesions (BMLs), identified by MRI, are defined as a region of cancellous bone with high T2 and low T1 signal intensity. They are associated with various knee pathologies including spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SPONK), AVN, trauma (fracture and bone contusion), following arthroscopy and secondary to overuse (i.e., after completing a marathon). They also are commonly recognised in patients with knee OA (referred to as OA-BMLs) and their substantial importance in knee OA pathogenesis has been recently identified. Depending upon the etiology (i.e., bone contusion, overuse, etc.) of the BML, these lesions can be “acute” in nature and spontaneously resolve over time. However, OA-BMLs generally are considered to be a “chronic” condition and overtime they have been shown to often persist and increase in size. Retrieval studies following THA and TKA, in patients with a preoperatively identified BML, have greatly expanded our understanding of OA – BMLs and these investigations consistently identify the critical role subchondral bone plays in OA disease progression. Histologic, histochemical and mechanical studies of OA-BMLs demonstrate significant alternations from healthy subchondral bone. The effected bone contains regions where fibrous tissue has replaced cancellous bone, microfractures are present and vascularity is increased. There is an increased concentration of inflammatory mediators and the bone structural integrity is compromised. Standard radiographs of the knee correlate only modestly with patient symptoms, but conversely, the presence of an OA-BML is an extremely strong predictor of pain and knee joint dysfunction. Felson et al. reported this relationship. In a large group of patients with painful knee OA, 77.5% of these patients had a BML. Both the presence and size of the BML, following multiregression analysis, were significant predictors of knee pain severity. Additionally, likely secondary to inadequate subchondral bone plate support, the presence of an OA-BML is associated with subchondral bone attrition (SBA). SBA leads to collapse of the subchondral bone plate and progressive joint deformity. Based on the association of an OA-BML with pain, joint dysfunction and deformity, it is not surprising that these lesions are prognostic for patients seeking knee arthroplasty. Several studies have demonstrated that the odds of knee arthroplasty performance are substantially higher in patents with an OA-BML. This enhanced understanding of knee OA pathogenesis and the critical role of subchondral bone in this process creates an opportunity for development of novel prevention and treatment strategies. Prevention of OA-BML formation has been considered and pharmacologic interventions proposed. Recent studies have reported positive results for treatment with bisphosphonates in patients with knee OA. One study reported significant pain and OA-BML size reduction in patients receiving a bisphosphonate for 4 months. A strategy aimed at repairing and/or enhancing subchondral bone compromised by an OA-BML has also been proposed. Early results reported with this intervention are encouraging, but preliminary

Aims. Spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SONK) mainly affects the medial femoral condyle, would be a good indication for UKA. The primary aim of this study was to assess the clinical, functional and radiographic outcomes at middle to long-term follow-up, of a consecutive series of fifty UKA used for the treatment of SONK. The secondary aim was to assess the volume of necrotic bone and determine if this influenced the outcome. Patients and Methods. We reviewed 50 knees who were treated for SONK. Patients included ten males and 38 females. The mean age was 73 years (range, 57 to 83 years). The mean height and body weight were, respectively 153 cm (141 ∼171 cm) and 57 kg (35 ∼75kg). All had been operated on using the Oxford mobile-bearing UKA (Zimmer-Biomet, Swindon, United Kingdom) with cement fixation. The mean follow-up period was 8.4 years (range, 4 to 15years). We measured the size (width, length and depth) and the volume to be estimated (width x length x depth) of the necrotic bone mass using MRI in T1-weighted images. The clinical results were evaluated using the Knee Society Scoring System (KSS) and Oxford Knee Score (OKS). The flexion angle of the knee was evaluated using lateral X-ray images in maximum flexion. Results. There were no implant failures, but there were 4 deaths (from causes unrelated to UKA) mean 6.6 years after surgery(5∼8), 3 cases were lost mean 3.3 years after surgery(2∼5). The mean size of the necrotic lesion were 17.2mm (14.7∼25.3) in width, 28.2mm (6.2∼38.3) in length and 11.3mm (3.2∼14.3) in depth. The mean volume of it was calculated to be approximate 5.4 cm. 3. (0.7∼11.1). The mean flexion of the knee, KSS Knee Score, Function Score and OKS increased from a preoperative 128.7 degrees (110 ∼ 140 degrees) to 137.5 degrees (110 ∼ 153 degrees), 52.3 (30 ∼ 64) to 91.3 (87 ∼ 100), 39.7 (15∼ 55) to 90.2 (65 ∼ 100) and 21.6 (12∼ 28) to 40.2 (34∼ 48), respectively at the latest follow-up. At last follow-up all patients had good or excellent OKS. Conclusions. There was a 100% survival rate of the Oxford Phase 3 UKA for SONK in the middle to long-term (up to 15 years after surgery) in this independent study. All patients had good/excellent results at last follow-up and there were no reoperations or major complications. This suggests that Oxford mobile-bearing UKA is a good and definitive treatment for medial femoral SONK, whatever the size of the lesion

Since 2005, the author has performed nearly 1000 Oxford medial unicompartmental arthroplasties (UKA) using a mobile bearing. The indications are 1) Isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis with ‘bone-on-bone’ contact, which has failed prior conservative treatment, 2) Medial femoral condyle avascular necrosis or spontaneous osteonecrosis, which has failed prior conservative treatment. Patients are recommended for UKA only if the following anatomic requirements are met: 1) Intact ACL, 2) Full thickness articular cartilage wear limited to the anterior half of the medial tibial plateau, 3) Unaffected lateral compartment cartilage, 4) Unaffected patellar cartilage on the lateral facet, 5) Less than 10 degrees of flexion deformity, 6) Over 100 degrees of knee flexion, and 7) Varus deformity not exceeding 15 degrees. Exclusion criteria for surgery are BMI of more than 30, prior high tibial osteotomy, and inflammatory arthritis. All cases were performed with a tourniquet inflated using a minimally-invasive incision with a quadriceps-sparing approach. Both femoral and tibial components were cemented. Most patients were discharged home the next morning; bilaterals usually stayed a day longer. We have previously described our results and the factors determining alignment. In a more recent study, we have compared the coronal post-operative limb alignment and knee joint line obliquity after medial UKA with a clinically and radiologically (less than Grade 2 medial OA) normal contralateral lower limb. In our series, we have had 1 revision for aseptic loosening of both components, conversion to TKRs in a patient with bilateral UKAs who developed rheumatoid arthritis 3 years later, and 9 meniscal dislocations. There have been no cases of wound infections and thromboembolism. We have reviewed our patients with a minimum 10-year follow-up which will be presented. The vast majority of our patients have been generally very satisfied with the results. Our study shows that most patients (who have no disease in the contralateral knee) regain their ‘natural’ alignment and joint line obliquity comparable to their contralateral limb. Over the past few years our percentage of UKAs has been steadily rising to about a third of our knee cases. UKA serves as a definitive procedure in the elderly. We see it as a suitable procedure in middle-aged patients who want an operation that provides a quick recovery, full function and range of motion, and near-normal kinematics, with the understanding that they have a small chance of conversion to a total knee arthroplasty in the future

Purpose. Osteochondral lesions of the knee are relatively common both in young and senior population. The very disabling clinical symptoms, in association to the scarce regenerative capacity of the articular cartilage and the increased risk of developing a secondary osteoarthritis make an effective treatment mandatory. Methods and Materials. From December 2008 to January 2013, 34 patients (35 knees), 24 males and 10 females (mean age 36.2 years range 14–66) underwent implant of Maioregen® (Finceramica Faenza S.P.A, Italy) biomimetic tri-layer osteochondral scaffold. In 17 cases the osteochondral lesion was cause by an osteochondritis dissecans (acute or sequela), in 13 cases by a spontaneous osteonecrosis and in 4 cases the etiology was traumatic. Patients were evaluated with subjective IKDC and Tegner Lysholm scores, VAS and Tegner Activity Scale before surgery and at regular follow up (mean follow up 38.4 months, range 13 months max 63 months). Results. Both Lysholm and IKDC Subjective scores significantly increased from 57.5 and 48.2 before surgery to 89.7 and 76.3 at 1 year follow up. Mean VAS scale score decreased from 6.3 to 2 at 1 year follow up. At 3 years follow up 20 evaluated patients showed an increment on both scales (Lysholm 92.38, IKDC 84.7). Only 4 patients were evaluated at 5 years follow up with mean subjective IKDC 92.5, Lysholm 98.75 and VAS 1. Conclusion. Maioregen® biomimetic osteochondral scaffold showed very good results as surgical treatment option in treating ICRS grade 3–4 osteochondral lesions whatever the etiology. In particular, the implant showed good results also in treatment of osteonecrosis and could provide an alternative to unicompartimental arthroplasty in young and active patients

INTRODUCTION. Osteochondral lesions of the knee are relatively common both in young and senior population. The very disabling clinical symptoms, in association to the scarce regenerative capacity of the articular cartilage and the increased risk of developing a secondary osteoarthritis make an effective treatment mandatory. MATERIALS AND METHODS. From December 2008 to January 2013, 34 patients (35 knees), 24 males and 10 females (mean age 36.2 years range 14–66) underwent implant of Maioregen® (Finceramica Faenza S.P.A, Italy) biomimetic osteochondral scaffold. In 17 cases the osteochondral lesion was cause by an osteochondritis dissecans (acute or sequela), in 13 cases by a spontaneous osteonecrosis and in 4 cases the etiology was traumatic. Patients were evaluated with subjective IKDC and Tegner Lysholm scores, VAS and Tegner Activity Scale before surgery and at regular follow up (mean follow up 38.4 months, range 13 months max 63 months). RESULTS. Both Lysholm and IKDC Subjective scores significantly increased from 57.5 and 48.2 before surgery to 89.7 and 76.3 at 1 year follow up. Mean VAS scale score decreased from 6.3 to 2 at 1 year follow up. At 3 years follow up 20 evaluated patients showed an increment on both scales (Lysholm 92.38, IKDC 84.7). Only 4 patients were evaluated at 5 years follow up with mean subjective IKDC 92.5, Lysholm 98.75 and VAS 1. DISCUSSION. Maioregen ® biomimetic osteochondral scaffold showed very good results as surgical treatment option in treating ICRS grade 3–4 osteochondral lesions whatever the etiology. In particular, the implant showed good results also in treatment of osteonecrosis and could provide an alternative to unicompartimental arthroplasty in young and active patients

Since 2005, the author has performed 422 Oxford medial unicompartmental arthroplasties (UKA) using a mobile bearing. There were 263 females and 119 males, (40 patients had bilateral UKAs) with a mean age of 62 years. The indications were: Isolated medial compartment osteoarthritis with ‘bone-on-bone’ contact, which had failed prior conservative treatment; Medial femoral condyle avascular necrosis or spontaneous osteonecrosis, which had failed prior conservative treatment. Patients were recommended UKA only if the following anatomic requirements were met: Intact ACL, Full thickness articular cartilage wear limited to the anterior half of the medial tibial plateau, Unaffected lateral compartment cartilage, Unaffected patellar cartilage on the lateral facet, Less than 10 degrees of flexion deformity, Over 100 degrees of knee flexion, Varus deformity not exceeding 15 degrees. Exclusion criteria for surgery were BMI of more than 30, prior high tibial osteotomy, and inflammatory arthritis. All cases were performed with a tourniquet inflated using a minimally-invasive incision with a quadriceps-sparing approach. Both femoral and tibial components were cemented. Rehabilitation consisted of teaching the patients 6 exercises to regain strength and range of motion, and weight-bearing as tolerated with a cane began from the evening of surgery. Most patients were discharged home the next morning; bilaterals usually stayed a day longer. We have previously described our results and the factors determining alignment. In a more recent study we have compared the coronal postoperative limb alignment and knee joint line obliquity after medial UKA with a clinically and radiologically (less than Grade 2 medial OA) normal contralateral lower limb. In our series of 423 cases, we have had 1 revision for aseptic loosening of both components, and 4 meniscal dislocations. There have been no cases of wound infections and thromboembolism. We are currently undertaking a review of the 2–10 year follow-up of our cases. The vast majority of our patients have been generally very satisfied with the results. Our study shows that most patients (who have no disease in the contralateral knee) regain their ‘natural’ alignment and joint line obliquity comparable to their contralateral limb. Over the past few years our percentage of UKAs has been steadily rising. UKA serves as a definitive procedure in the elderly. We see it as a suitable procedure in middle-aged patients who want an operation that provides a quick recovery, full function and range of motion, and near-normal kinematics, with the understanding that they have a small chance of conversion to a total knee arthroplasty in the future

INTRODUCTION. The literature suggests a survivorship of unicompartmental knee arthroplasties (UKA) for spontaneous osteonecrosisof the knee range from 93% to 96.7% at 10 to 12 years. However, these data arise from series reporting 23 to 33 patients, jeopardizing meaningful conclusions. OBJECTIVES. Our purpose is to examine a long term survivorship of UKA's in a larger group of patients with SPONK, along with their subjective, symptomatic and functional outcome; to determine the percentage of failures and the reasons for the same in an attempt to identify relevant indications, contraindications, and technical parameters in treating SPONK with a modern implant design. METHODS. We retrospectively evaluated 84 patients with late-stage spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee who had a medial UKA from 1998 to 2005. All patients had preoperative MRI to confirm the diagnosis, exclude metaphyseal involvemente, and confirm the absence of major degenerative changes in the lateral and patellofermoal compartment. Mean age at surgery was 66 years and mean body mass index was 28.9. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted using revision for any reason as the end point. The minimum followup of 63 months (mean, 98 months; range, 63–145 months). RESULTS. The 10-year survivorship was 92%. Ten revisons were performed and the most common reasons for revision were subsidence of the tibial component (four) and aseptic loosening of the tibial component (three). No patient underwent revision for osteoarthritis progression in the lateral or patellofemoral compartment. There was a statistically significant difference between postoperative VAS, KSS, WOMAC, Oxford, Range of Motion and Tibial Slope (overcorrected by 3.7 degrees, p< 0.0023) between the survivors and the failures. CONCLUSION. SPONK may be an optimal indication for UKA provided secondary osteonecrosis of the knee is ruled out; pre-operative MRI is performed to document involvement of other compartments, status of the ligaments and depth of lesion; and there is no over-correction in any plane

Objective. Mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is an effective and safe treatment for osteoarthritis of the medial compartment. However, mobile-bearing UKA needs accurate ligament balancing of flexion and extension gaps to prevent dislocation of the mobile meniscal bearing. Instability can lead to dislocation of the insert. The phase 3 instruments of the Oxford UKA use a balancing technique for the flexion gap (90° of flexion) and extension gap (20° of flexion), thereby focusing attention on satisfactory soft tissue balancing. With this technique, spacers are used to balance the flexion and extension gap. However, gap kinematics in another flexion angle of mobile-bearing UKA is unclear. We developed UKA tensor for mobile-bearing UKA and we assessed the accurate gap kinematics of UKA. Materials and Methods. Between 2012 and 2013, The Phase 3 Oxford Partial Knee UKA (Biomet Inc., Warsaw, IN) were carried out in 48 patients (71 knees) for unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis or spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial compartment. The mean age of patients at surgery was 71.6 years and the mean follow-up period was 1.7 years. The mean preoperative coronal plane alignment was 7.4° in varus. The indications for UKA included disabling knee pain with medial compartment disease; intact ACL and collateral ligaments; preoperative contracture of less than 15°; and preoperative deformity of <15°. Each surgery was performed by using different spacer block with 1-mm increments and the meniscal bearing lift-off tests according to surgical technique. We developed newly tensor for mobile bearing UKA which designed to permit surgeons to measure multiple range of the joint medial compartment/joint component gap, while applying a constant joint distraction force (Figure 1). We assessed the intra-operative joint gap measurements at 0, 20, 60, 90 and 120 of flexion with 100N, 125N and 150N of joint distraction forces. Results. The gaps measured were 0°: 8.6 ± 1.6, 20°: 9.2 ± 1.4, 60°: 9.6 ± 1.2, 90°: 11.1 ± 1.3, 120°: 11.6 ± 1.8 in 100 N, 0°: 9.7 ± 1.7, 20°: 11.2 ± 1.3, 60°: 11.4 ± 1.3, 90°: 11.9 ± 1.5, 120°: 10.4 ± 1.6 in 125 N, 0°: 11.3±1.4, 20°: 11.8 ± 1.3, 60°: 11.1 ± 1.2, 90°: 12.5 ± 1.3, 120°: 11.9 ± 1.6 in 150N (Figure 2). There was a significant difference between full extension to extension (20° of flexion) and flexion (90° of flexion) to full flexion (120° of flexion). Conclusion. Mobile bearing UKA instrumentation using a balancing technique by spacer block for the flexion gap (90° of flexion) and extension gap (20° of flexion), full extension gap was significantly smaller than extension gap and flexion gap was significantly smaller than full flexion gap in 100N, 125N and 150N of joint distraction forces

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a newly described infectious disease caused by the SARS coronavirus which attacks the immune system and pulmonary epithelium. It is treated with regular high doses of corticosteroids. Our aim was to determine the relationship between the dosage of steroids and the number and distribution of osteonecrotic lesions in patients treated with steroids during the SARS epidemic in Beijing, China in 2003.

We identified 114 patients for inclusion in the study. Of these, 43 with osteonecrosis received a significantly higher cumulative and peak methylprednisolone-equivalent dose than 71 patients with no osteonecrosis identified by MRI. We confirmed that the number of osteonecrotic lesions was directly related to the dosage of steroids and that a very high dose, a peak dose of more than 200 mg or a cumulative methylprednisolone-equivalent dose of more than 4000 mg, is a significant risk factor for multifocal osteonecrosis with both epiphyseal and diaphyseal lesions. Patients with diaphyseal osteonecrosis received a significantly higher cumulative methylprednisolone-equivalent dose than those with epiphyseal osteonecrosis. Multifocal osteonecrosis should be suspected if a patient is diagnosed with osteonecrosis in the shaft of a long bone.