title: UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY: CURRENT PERSPECTIVES AND TRENDS IN BRAZIL.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the approaches and procedures used by Brazilian orthopedic surgeons for treating osteoarthrosis by means of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and high tibial osteotomy of the knee.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire with 14 closed questions was developed and applied to Brazilian knee surgeons during the three days of the 43(rd) Brazilian Congress of Orthopedics and Traumatology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 113 surgeons filled out the questionnaire completely and became part of the sample analyzed. In this study, the majority of the surgeons performed fewer than five unicompartmental knee arthroplasty procedures/year (61.1%) and between 5 and 15 high tibial osteotomy procedures/year (37.2%). Use of computerized navigation systems during surgery remains uncommon in our environment, since only 0.9% of the specialists were using it. 65.5% of the surgeons reported that they had chosen to use total knee arthroplasty rather than partial arthroplasty due to lack of familiarity with the surgical technique. When asked about the possibility that the number of unicompartmental prostheses used in Brazil would grow as surgeons in this country become increasingly familiar with the technique, 80.5% of the respondents believed in this hypothesis. In this sample, we found that the greater the surgeon's experience was, the greater the numbers of unicompartmental prostheses and tibial osteotomies performed annually were (r = 0.550 and r = 0.465, respectively; p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a clear evolutional trend towards treatment of unicompartmental osteoarthritis using partial knee arthroplasty in Brazil. However, further prospective controlled studies are needed in order to evaluate the clinical and scientific benefits of these trends.
authors.affiliation: Member of the Sports Traumatology Center, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo Gonçalves
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Arliani
authors.affiliation: Resident Doctor, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Alberto Yazigi
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Júnior
authors.affiliation: Member of the Sports Traumatology Center, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Felipe Bertelli
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Angelini
authors.affiliation: Member of the Sports Traumatology Center, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferlin
authors.affiliation: Resident Doctor, Hand and Upper Limb Surgery Discipline, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andrea Canizares
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Hernandes
authors.affiliation: Member of the Sports Traumatology Center, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Diego da Costa
authors.initials: Dda C
authors.lastname: Astur
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor and Head, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Moises
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cohen
keywords: Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; Knee Joint; Osteoarthritis; Osteotomy