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I have a bum knee from an old football injury. The ACL and medial meniscus are gone. And now I have arthritis pretty bad. A friend of mine just had half of his knee joint replaced. He said it was a some kind of English joint. He's had wonderful results. Could I qualify for this kind of treatment, too?

Your friend may have received the Oxford unicompartmental knee replacement surgery. The implant is actually manufactured in England (where Oxford is located) but distributed in the United States by the Biomet Company in Indiana.

This implant works very well when used in the right patient. There is a long list of patients who should not be given this implant. The four most important factors include:

  • You must have healthy, normal knee ligaments
  • Bone and cartilage damage must only be on the medial side of the knee
    (side closest to the other knee)
  • The ligament on the medial side of the knee cannot be so short that the knee
    can't be aligned normally
  • Minimal joint contracture (must be able to bend to 110 degrees and straighten
    to within 15 degrees of full extension)
  • Must not be overweight or in poor general health
  • Must be willing to follow surgeon's and physical therapist's instructions

    With two ligaments missing and damage to the cartilage, you may not be a good candidate for this particular implant. But you may be eligible for a different implant. The first step is to see an orthopedic surgeon and have the knee examined. There may be more than one treatment option to consider.

    • Reference: 

    Gaurav Khanna, MD, and Bruce A. Levy, MD. Oxford Unicompartmental Knee Replacement: Literature Review. In Orthopedics. May 2007. Vol. 30. No. 5/Supplement. Pp. 11-18.

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