Outcomes of mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty in medial osteoarthritis knee with and without preoperative genu recurvatum

AIM: To compare clinical outcomes of patients with and without preoperative genu recurvatum (GR) following mobile bearing unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). METHODS: We prospectively followed 176 patients for at least 24 mo who had been treated by unilateral, minimally invasive, Oxford UKA. Patients with medial osteoarthritis (OA) knee and preoperative GR (Group I) accounted for 18% (n = 32) and patients without preoperative GR (Group II) accounted for the remaining 82% (n = 144). Knee score, pain scores, and functional scores were assessed for each patient and compared between the two groups. The incidence of postoperative GR and the postoperative hyperextension angles also were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The pain score, knee score and functional score were not significantly different between the two groups. Similarly, the incidence of postoperative GR and the measured hyperextension angles were not significantly different between the two groups. The incidence of postoperative GR was 1/32 (3.12%) in Group I and 1/144 (0.69%) in Group II (P = 0.34). The mean postoperative hyperextension angles were 2.40° ± 2.19° (range: 1°-7°) for Group I and 1.57° ± 3.51° (range: 1°-6°) for Group II (P = 0.65). CONCLUSION: Medial OA of the knee and concomitant GR is not a contraindication for the mobile bearing UKA.