Partial Knee Replacement

A knee arthroplasty, also called knee replacement, resurfaces and replaces damaged bone and cartilage with metal and plastic components in order to provide lasting symptomatic relief and improve mobility. A partial, or unicompartmental knee replacement is utilized when a patient has arthritis in only one area of the knee, rather than throughout the entire knee. Given that this procedure is performed through a smaller incision and because less of the knee is directly affected, recovery is generally faster compared to a total knee replacement. Additionally, some patients are able to tolerate high impact activities such as running more comfortably after surgery with a unicompartmental replacement compared to a total.