Perhaps, you've heard about minimally invasive knee surgeries and want to know if one could help you. On this page we describe the development of the minimally invasive unicompartmental knee arthroplasty performed at Anderson Clinic, who can benefit from this procedure, and its many benefits.

For the past 20 years, surgeons with the Anderson Orthopaedic Institute have been at the forefront in the use and research of unicompartmental knee arthroplasties (UKA), also commonly called a "uni." It involves placing an implant on just one side of the knee, rather than over the entire surface of the knee joint, as in a total knee replacement.

The uni was the precurser to a minimally invasive unicom-partmental knee arthroplasty, also called a mini uni. In the late 90s, surgeons from the Anderson Clinic and an international team of surgeons made it possible to perform a uni with a much smaller incision (3 to 4 inches long), hence the nickname a "mini-uni." This procedure can provide great pain relief and improved functionality to patients with knee arthritis. Continue reading to see if a mini uni is the solution for you.

Physicians with the Anderson Orthopaedic Institute have refined a minimally invasive knee replacement that provides excellent results for sufferers of knee arthritis.
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Because the incision is smaller with a mini-uni than with a total knee replacement, patients have less pain, spend less recovery time in the hospital, and can be active sooner. The procedure also reduces risks of infection or blood loss.

In terms of outcomes, studies have shown that patients treated with unicondylar knee arthroplasties have more functionality and greater range of motion than patients treated with total knee arthroplasties.

Lastly, it is possible that later in life an active or relatively young patient could wear out the initial knee replacement, thus requiring a second knee replacement, known as a revision. Research shows that a unicondylar knee implant is revised much more easily than a total knee replacement and that the results are excellent.

A. This operation is for patients with debilitating arthritis on one side of the knee, rather than on both sides.

Physicians at the Anderson Clinic determine if the procedure is suitable by examining x-rays of the patient taken at our clinic.

Because a mini uni is less invasive than a total knee replacement and causes less bone loss, our physicians prefer this procedure over a total knee arthroplasty for appropriate patients.

A mini uni provides a solution for younger patients with debilitating knee arthritis.

A. We believe the mini uni is a big advancement for our patients, and we are confident with this procedure.

The mini uni implant, surgical instruments, and techniques now used at Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic were developed by Dr. Gerard A. Engh and Dr. James P. McAuley of the Anderson Clinic with an international team of experts in knee surgery.

The operation actually evolved from 20 years of research and experience with unicondylar knee replacements. By the early 1990s, the unicondylar knee had a good track record, which encouraged surgeons to improve the techniques and surgical instruments to allow them to make smaller incisions.

The new instruments and techniques developed for the mini-uni have improved the accuracy and reproducibility of this operation.

Dr. Gerard A. Engh