Minimally Invasive Surgery for Arthroplasty with the UniSpacer

Abstract

Middle-age osteoarthritis of the knee remains a problem with many treatment options. It can be treated in its earlier stages with a combination of oral medication, intra-articular injection with cortisone or viscosupplementation, physical therapy, and arthroscopic debridement. Once the patient has reached a level of disability which is not responding to these less invasive treatment modalities, the patient and physician are both faced with the decision to choose a more invasive surgical option. The selection of the best surgical alternative will depend on many nonsurgical issues including the patient’s age, weight, sex, activity level, and occupation. This decision will also be based on the extent of cartilage degeneration, as well as bony deformity. These options include high tibial osteotomy, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty, total knee arthroplasty, and the UniSpacer. The final decision on which of these techniques is ultimately used will come down to patient and surgeon preference based on the individual set of circumstances.