title: Simultaneous versus staged bilateral unicompartmental knee replacement.
abstract: We prospectively followed 171 patients who underwent bilateral unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) over a period of two years. Of these, 124 (72.5%) underwent a simultaneous bilateral procedure and 47 (27.5%) underwent a staged procedure. The mean cumulative operating time and length of hospital stay were both shorter in the simultaneous group, by 22.5 minutes (p < 0.001) and three days (p < 0.001), respectively. The mean reduction in haemoglobin level post-operatively was greater by 0.15 g/dl in the simultaneous group (p = 0.023), but this did not translate into a significant increase in the number of patients requiring blood transfusion (p = 1.000). The mean hospital cost was lower by $8892 in the simultaneous group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the rate of complications between the groups, and at two-year follow-up there was no difference in the outcomes between the two groups. We conclude that simultaneous bilateral UKR can be recommended as an appropriate treatment for patients with bilateral medial compartment osteoarthritis of the knee.
authors.affiliation: Singapore General Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Block 6 Level 7, Outram Road, 16960 Singapore. yqjchen@gmail.com
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: D K J
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: S-L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yeo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Complications; Functional Outcomes; Knee; Simultaneous; Staged; Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty