Background: Lateral unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) is an alternative to total knee replacement for isolated lateral unicompartmental knee arthritis. The geometry and mechanics of the lateral compartment differ to the medial compartment with the Lateral Domed Oxford UKR designed to address this. We used National Joint Registry (NJR) data to report the mid to long term outcomes of this device.
Methods:We performed a retrospective observational study using NJR data on 992 Lateral Domed Oxford UKRs implanted between 1 st January 2005 and 31 st December 2017.Outcomes of interest were implant survival and revision indications.
Results:The 10 year cumulative implant survival rates were 88.6% (CI 85.3-91.2). When compared to <55 year age group, the 55-64, 65-74 and ≥75 groups had significantly lower revision rates (Hazard Ratio (HR)=0.56 (CI 0.32-0.98, p=0.04), HR 0.40 (CI 0.22-0.72, p=0.003) and HR 0.27 (CI 0.12-0.58, p=0.001) respectively). The obese group had significantly (p=0.04) increased revision risk compared to normal BMI (HR 2.33, CI 1.06-5.12). The commonest reasons for revision surgery were dislocation (n=23, 2.3%), pain (n=15, 1.5%) and aseptic loosening (n=14, 1.4%).
Conclusion:The Lateral Domed Oxford UKR provides a good option for isolated lateral compartment osteoarthritis. However dislocation of the mobile bearing remains a problem, occurring in 2.3% of the patients and accounting for 30% of the revisions. To help prevent dislocation it is now possible to assess bearing stability intra-operatively and if very unstable to implant a compatible fixed bearing tibial component, without the need for further bone preparation.