Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty versus high tibial osteotomy: United States practice patterns for the surgical treatment of unicompartmental arthritis

Abstract

Both unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) and high tibial osteotomy (HTO) produce satisfactory outcomes in the management of unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study is to compare UKA and HTO practice patterns in a large US private payer insurance database. Utilization data for UKA and HTO were captured from the database between 2007 and 2011. Chi square analysis, parametric testing and Poisson regressions were performed where appropriate. Between 2007 and 2011, the compound annual growth rate in utilization of UKA was +4.7%, while that for HTO was -3.9%. Utilization of UKA and HTO were inversely correlated (P = 0.001). UKA utilization is increasing, while HTO utilization is decreasing in the management of OA. More work is required to understand specific indications and outcomes.

Keywords: high tibial osteotomy; joint preservation; osteoarthritis; unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.