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adding partial knees could be
the perfect way to test the out-
patient joint replacement
waters without getting in over
your head.
Docs who do
partial knees
To add unicompartmental knee
procedures, you'll need to start
with finding the right surgeons
for the job. That can be tough,
because most residency pro-
grams don't teach partial
replacements and not many sur-
geons currently perform them.
"Surgeons aren't typically
exposed to the required tech-
niques," says Craig J. Della
Valle, MD, a joint replacement
specialist at Midwest
Orthopaedics at Rush and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Rush University
Medical Center in Chicago. "And while some surgeons believe in the idea of par-
tial knee replacements, others think you should just go ahead and replace the
entire joint."
The procedure is minimally invasive, which makes it a good fit for a variety of
patients, says Dr. Della Valle, but they must meet a few requirements.
Specifically, patients should have arthritis in only one compartment of the knee
and their posterior cruciate ligament must be intact. Patients should also be rela-
tively healthy with few to no comorbidities and a BMI in a healthy range.
"It's interesting, because partial knee replacement is a good operation for a
• JOINT EFFORT Implant manufacturers and makers of robotic-assisted navi-
gation systems are trying to make the procedures accessible to more facilities.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
