Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38769777›Full record

ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2025

Unicompartmental osteoarthritis: High survival rate with a combined mechanical and biological salvage approach as alternative to metal resurfacing: Results at minimum 10 years of follow-up.

Luca Solaro, Luca Andriolo, Alessandro Di Martino, Alberto Grassi, Stefano Zaffagnini, Giuseppe Filardo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Luca SolaroClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5786-9602
Luca AndrioloClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6352-9671
Alessandro Di MartinoClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Alberto GrassiClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4236-1798
Stefano ZaffagniniClinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica 2, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
Giuseppe FilardoApplied and Translational Research (ATR) Center, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8136-0977

Funding

None
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the long-term clinical results and failure rate of patients treated with complex salvage procedures using a combined mechanical and biological approach to address unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis (OA) and postpone the need for joint replacement.

methodsThirty-nine patients (40.3 ± 10.9 years old) affected by unicompartmental OA (Kellgren-Lawrence 3) in stable joints underwent a personalized surgical treatment depending on the specific requirements of the affected compartment, including high tibial osteotomy, osteochondral scaffold, meniscal scaffold and meniscal allograft transplantation. Patients were evaluated with the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Tegner scores before surgery, at 3 years and a minimum of 10 years of follow-up.

resultsA significant improvement was observed over time in all scores but worsened at the final follow-up. The IKDC subjective score improved from 46.9 ± 16.2 to 79.8 ± 16.4 at 3 years (p < 0.0005) and then decreased to 64.5 ± 21.4 (p = 0.001) at 12 years. A similar trend was confirmed for VAS and Tegner scores. Only two patients subsequently underwent knee arthroplasty, and nine more patients were considered clinical failure, for a cumulative surgical and clinical failure rate of 28.2% at the final follow-up.

conclusionA personalized, joint-preserving, combined mechanical and biological approach, addressing alignment as well as meniscal and cartilage lesions, is safe and effective, providing a clinical benefit and delaying the need for arthroplasty in young patients affected by unicompartmental knee OA. At the final evaluation, the clinical improvement decreased, but more than two-thirds of the patients still benefited from this treatment at a long-term follow-up. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV case series.

Indexed as

Arthroplasty, Replacement, KneeOsteoarthritis, KneeSalvage TherapyAdultFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansKnee ProsthesisMaleMenisci, TibialMiddle AgedOsteotomyProspective StudiesTreatment Outcomecartilagekneemeniscal allograft transplantationosteoarthritisosteotomyunicompartmental

Identifiers

PMID38769777
PMCPMC11716332

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.