New York and Greenwich, CT
April 4, 2022

The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery recently published the article Pre-Arthritic/Kinematic Alignment in Fixed-Bearing Medial Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty Results in Return to Activity at Mean 10-Year Follow-up written by the research team at the Orthopaedic Foundation, founded by Kevin D. Plancher’s, MD, MPH. This article is currently available for download online and in print: The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: March 29, 2022 – Volume – Issue – 10.2106/JBJS.21.00801
doi: 10.2106/JBJS.21.00801.

This article debates the optimal alignment strategy in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). The aim of the present study was to determine if pre-arthritic/kinematic alignment of knees would result in sustained long-term restoration of function, without conversion to total knee arthroplasty (TKA), following non-robotically assisted, fixed-bearing medial UKA. Pre-arthritic/kinematically aligned knees in this non-robotically assisted fixed-bearing medial UKA cohort had superior outcomes, including the KOOS Activities of Daily Living and Sport subscales and achievement of the PASS for these measures, compared with non-pre-arthritic/kinematically aligned at an average of 10 years after UKA. Knees that fell within 3° of a simple aHKA measurement on a 3-foot (1-m)-long standing radiograph had greater longevity and return to activities.

Kevin D. Plancher, MD, MPH, is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon and founder of Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. Dr. Plancher is a Clinical Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, at the Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University in New York. Since 2001, he has been listed annually in the Castle Connolly directory as a “top doctor” in his field.

Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine is a comprehensive orthopaedics and sports medicine practice with offices in New York City and Greenwich, CT. Leaders in orthopaedics, sports medicine, and acute emergency treatment of sports injuries and rehabilitation utilizing the latest techniques in orthopaedic care. plancherortho.com.