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Partial knee replacements are superior economically to total knee replacements in older adults and, with a few small improvements, can be an attractive option for younger patients as well, new research from Weill Cornell Medical College and Hospital for Special Surgery 2015 investigators suggests.

…Knee replacement surgeries are expected to surpass one million annually by 2020, with half of these surgeries being performed on patients younger than 65…

…in their study, published March 4 in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the Weill Cornell investigators found that partial knee?? –?? also known as unicompartmental – replacements provide greater economic value to patients over the age of 65 compared with total knee replacement, as they are less likely to face surgical complications and require less physical therapy than those who undergo total knee replacement surgery…

…While partial knee replacements traditionally have been controversial due to the higher risk of needing a revision surgery, physicians and researchers have found that this procedure offers substantial benefits. It is minimally invasive and results in less blood loss and trauma than total knee replacements. It is associated with less medical and surgical complications, such as joint infections and blood clots in the legs and lungs. And patients’ reconstructed knees tend to have a better range of motion following a shorter stint in physical therapy…

…Researchers estimate that 10 to 21 percent of total knee replacement patients qualify for partial knee replacement.