A very nice study printed in Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, February 2022, by Anders Odgaard, et al., from Denmark presented a multi-center randomized controlled trial in 100 patients comparing patellofemoral arthroplasty, i.e., changing the covering on the patella and the opposing surface on the end of the thigh bone of the knee, and a group of people who underwent total knee arthroplasty. It showed that the patellofemoral arthroplasty patients actually did better than the total knee patients during the first six years, and the early advantage of the patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) did not deteriorate over time. During the first six years, “Patients who underwent PFA demonstrated consistently better knee-related PROS (patient-related outcomes) than patients who underwent TKA.”

Conclusion: This study and the studies quoted in my thorough dissertation on unicompartmental knee arthroplasty support the notion that maintaining the native knee ligaments and resurfacing only the most involved portion of an arthritic knee may be the best option for many patients presenting with painful knees related to arthritis that is localized rather than the extreme of total knee arthroplasty, thus the patients recover faster and end up with better motion and perceive their results as being better.