Despite almost half of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) being suitable candidates for partial knee replacement at the time of surgery, partial knee replacements remain underutilized. Only 10% of partial knee replacements are performed on the compartment on the outside edge of the knee – the lateral compartment. Though lateral compartment OA is undoubtedly less common than medial OA, this underutilization is also partly due to lateral partial knee replacements being technically more difficult to perform well with manual instrumentation, and partly because osteoarthritis of this compartment is sadly under-recognized as it can be hidden on standard knee x-rays.
Using robotic assistance has helped resolve the previous technical difficulties as implant position can now be planned beforehand using CT scan models, be fine-tuned during surgery based on the feel and balance of the knee, and then be delivered with total accuracy via robotic arm assistance. This reduces the risk of getting the partial knee replacement in the wrong position, and therefore the risk of the knee functioning poorly after or of arthritis developing later in other compartments of the knee. Of all knee replacement options, lateral partial knee replacement most closely recreates the normal biomechanics of the knee resulting in patient satisfaction of up to 95%.