Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Oct 4;5(4):237-245.
doi: 10.1055/s-0037-1606618. eCollection 2017 Dec.

Patellofemoral Arthroplasty: Current Concepts and Review of the Literature

Gabriele Pisanu  1 , Federica Rosso  1 , Corrado Bertolo  1 , Federico Dettoni  1 , Davide Blonna  1 , Davide Edoardo Bonasia  1 , Roberto Rossi  1
Affiliations
Review

Patellofemoral Arthroplasty: Current Concepts and Review of the Literature

Gabriele Pisanu et al. Joints. .

Abstract

Patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PFOA) can be associated with anterior knee pain, stiffness, and functional impairment. Some authors report that PFOA affects approximately 9% of patients older than 40 years with a greater prevalence in females. Etiology of PFOA is multifactorial and is related to the presence of abnormal stresses at the PF joint due to knee- and patient-related factors. The need for a joint preserving treatment by isolated replacement of the injured compartment of the knee led to the development of PF arthroplasty (PFA). When a correct PF replacement is performed, PFA preserves physiologic tibiofemoral joint, thus allowing patients for a rapid recovery with a high satisfaction. The outcomes for PFA are quite variable with a trend toward good to excellent results, mainly owing to the improvement in surgical techniques, patient selection, and implant design. The development of the second generation of PFA improved the outcomes, which is attributed to the different trochlear designs. Recently, encouraging results have been provided by the association of PFA and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). In many studies, the main cause of PFA failure is progression of tibiofemoral OA. The aim of this brief review of literature is to summarize the clinical features, indications and contraindications, surgical techniques, complications, and outcomes of PFA.

Keywords: arthroplasty; knee; osteoarthritis; patellofemoral; replacement.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Anteroposterior and lateral X-ray view after left PFA implants. PFA, patellofemoral arthroplasty.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Duncan R, Peat G, Thomas E, Wood L, Hay E, Croft P. Does isolated patellofemoral osteoarthritis matter? Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2009;17(09):1151–1155. - PubMed
    1. Lüring C, Tingart M, Drescher W, Springorum H R, Kraft C N, Rath B. Therapy of isolated arthritis in the patellofemoral joint: are there evidence-based options? [Article in German] Orthopade. 2011;40(10):902–906. - PubMed
    1. McAlindon T E, Snow S, Cooper C, Dieppe P A. Radiographic patterns of osteoarthritis of the knee joint in the community: the importance of the patellofemoral joint. Ann Rheum Dis. 1992;51(07):844–849. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Walker T, Perkinson B, Mihalko W M. Patellofemoral arthroplasty: the other unicompartmental knee replacement. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2012;94(18):1712–1720. - PubMed
    1. Lonner J H. Patellofemoral arthroplasty. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2007;15(08):495–506. - PubMed