What is a prosthetic joint ?

Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty (UKA)

The surgeon replaces a part of the joint surface of the femur and the tibia with a unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) implant.


The UKA is comprised of two components

Femoral implant:

 

  •  A replacement condyle that is embedded into the worn-out femur to replace the cartilage


Tibial implant:

 

A tibial baseplate that is fixed to the tibia. It is either:

 

  •  A metal part fixed to the bone and a polyethylene part on which the metal implant will slide
     
     
     
     
  •  Made entirely of polyethylene and fixed to the tibia with cement.

 

              Pre-operative X-ray                                 Post-operative X-ray

        

On the post-operative X-ray, the tibial implant is invisible because the surgeon opted for a tibial baseplate made entirely of polyethylene. The polyethylene is radiolucent.