Level of Evidence
III
Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is an accepted option for treatment of isolated arthritis within one of the 3 compartments of the knee [1]. In recent years, UKA has gained popularity as midterm and long-term results have appeared encouraging [2]. The first-decade survivorship after UKA has improved and is comparable with that after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients aged >60 years [3]. UKA in general offers several advantages compared with TKA: the procedure is less invasive, patients tend to achieve a better range of motion (ROM), and they report a more “normal feeling” joint [2]. A recent systematic review has supported the routine use of UKA for medial compartment osteoarthritis [4].
In the past, multiple studies used the need for revision surgery as an indicator of failure of a surgical procedure, neglecting the subjective component of patient satisfaction 5 and 6. More recently, patient satisfaction is increasingly being used as a marker of outcome of a procedure's success. Unfortunately, patient satisfaction is a subjective measurement and hence difficult to predict even with established knee scoring systems. Literature has demonstrated a discrepancy between clinician and patient ratings of quality of life [7]. Subjective patient satisfaction is the ultimate goal of each orthopedic surgeon performing a procedure for osteoarthritis in the knee [8].
Current published literature is scarce with regard to satisfaction rates of UKA; furthermore, these studies tend to involve small patient populations. This study aims to discover the rate of satisfaction of patients from an Asian population who have undergone UKA. Furthermore, it aims to reveal the different factors which play a part in patient satisfaction, especially in a multiracial Asian population which purportedly requires greater flexion of the knee for day-to-day activities.
Our hypothesis is that there are preoperative and postoperative variables associated with post-UKA patient dissatisfaction.