The new arthritic patient and arthroplasty treatment options.

Methods: In a prospective study of 513 consecutive potential knee replacement candidates, 59 patients (12%) underwent medial unicompartmental arthroplasty of the knee. All 59 patients had isolated unicompartmental disease without either clinical symptoms or radiographic evidence of patellofemoral arthritis; intraoperatively no patient had more than Outerbridge class 2 chondromalacia. No patient was lost to follow-up. The average follow-up was 13 years (range, 11-15 years).