Unicompartmental Elbow Replacement

Open debridement and radiocapitellar replacement in primary and post-traumatic arthritis of the elbow: a multicenter study

“…9 However, total elbow arthroplasty (TEA) has limited indications in young patients with high functional demands and in those showing no or moderate changes in the medial compartment. 6,14,16,29,30 On the basis of these observations, Pooley 26 conceived the LRE and first reported the preliminary results in 10 patients after a maximum follow-up of 18 months. The MEPI was excellent in 6 patients, good in 3, and fair in 1.…”

“…The operation was performed in accordance with the guidelines described by Pooley. 26 Patient details, including age, sex, side, diagnosis, surgical approach, and type of implant, are reported in Table I.…”

“…26 The potential indications of this device, designed to exclusively replaced the lateral compartment, emerged from pathologic investigations showing that primary and secondary degenerative changes of the elbow may involve the joint asymmetrically, the radiohumeral joint being the compartment most frequently damaged. 2,7,13,15,25,28 Such degenerative changes were present in adult patients and often remained confined to the lateral compartment throughout life.…”

“…18,21 On the basis of these findings, a new resurfacing prosthesis was designed aimed at replacing only the radiohumeral joint in patients showing primary and secondary osteoarthritis with asymmetrical involvement of the articular surface. 26 After the preliminary results reported by the author, 26 the clinical outcomes of radiocapitellar replacement were evaluated in 3 patients who had a different type of prosthesis, 16 and in 1 with a malunion after humeral shear fracture. 11 We report the results of LRE in a larger series of patients who were included in a prospective multicenter study analyzing short-term outcomes of open debridement and LRE in the treatment of primary and posttraumatic osteoarthritis of the elbow.…”

A morphological analysis of the humeral capitellum with an interest in prosthesis design

“…4,15 Furthermore, there are thought to be a subset of patients with elbow osteoarthritis suffering from predominantly lateral compartment arthrosis. 1,3,11 Until very recently, the options for dealing with lateral compartment arthosis were limited to debridement, 6 radial head or capitellum excision, or replacement of the radial head. 8 Interest in capitellar arthroplasty with or without radial head replacement is increasing for use in selected patients, 14 as it may be a less invasive option for those with pathology limited to the radiocapitellar joint.…”