The Present Situation of Patellofemoral Arthroplasty in the Management of Solitary Patellofemoral Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Patellofemoral (PF) osteoarthritis (OA) is a somewhat predominant illness, affecting up to 24% of women and 11% of<br />men over the age of 55 years who suffer from symptomatic knee OA. The purposes of this narrative overview are to<br />summarize the present situation of patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) in the treatment of solitary PF-OA, and to give<br />an account of the clinical results of PFA for the management of solitary PF degenerative OA of the knee. A Cochrane<br />Library and PubMed (MEDLINE) examination related to the position of PFA in PF-OA was carried out. A number of<br />publications have encountered that PFA is an efficacious treatment for solitary PF-OA. Additionally, a systematic review<br />described fairly good results of PFA survivorship and functional outcomes at short- and mid-run follow-up in the setting<br />of solitary PF-OA. Success of PFA depends on accurate patient selection rather than prosthetic failure or wear. In many<br />reports, the main cause of PFA failure is advancement of tibiofemoral OA. In contemporary times, encouraging results<br />have been accomplished by the association of PFA and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). In conclusion,<br />patients with solitary PF-OA with severe anterior knee pain may be candidates for PFA. The success of the surgical<br />procedure and the long-run survivorship of PFA are related to a good surgical technique and observation to meticulous<br />indications and contraindications in patient selection. Newer prostheses have also played a part to ameliorated<br />outcomes. PFA is an alternative for younger patients with solitary PF-OA.<br />Level of evidence: III