Abstract
Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) and high tibial osteotomy (HTO) surgeries
are often preferred in individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of
the study was to compare the functional outcomes of patients with UKA and HTO. Seventy-seven
individuals were included in the study, of which 39 individuals had undergone HTO
surgery (median age = 58.38 ± 7.99, median body mass index [BMI] = 30.93 ± 3.33 kg/m2) and 38 individuals had undergone UKA surgery (median age = 62.95 ± 7.74 years, median
BMI = 30.48 ± 3.57 kg/m2). Pain was evaluated before and after surgery. Pain severity, 6-Minute Walk Test
(6MWT), 10-Repetition Sitto-Stand Test (10 × STS), stairs test, Timed Up and Go (TUG),
and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) questionnaire were used for
functional evaluation. There were no differences in demographic characteristics between
groups (p > 0.05). The HTO group had lower postoperative pain (p = 0.043) and KOOS pain subscale scores (p = 0.043), better stairs test (p = 0.041), and 10 × STS results (p = 0.007). There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of the
6MWT, TUG, and KOOS total scores (p > 0.05). The results showed that individuals who underwent HTO surgery experienced
less postoperative pain and had better functional levels compared with those who underwent
UKA surgery. It shows that good functional performance can be achieved with HTO surgery
in early medial compartment OA.
Keywords
knee osteoarthritis - high tibial osteotomy - unicompartmental knee arthroplasty -
functional performance
