Arthroscopic-assisted focal resurfacing of the knee: surgical technique and preliminary results of 13 patients at 2 years follow-up

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe an arthroscopic-assisted surgical technique for focal resurfacing of medial tibio-femoral compartment and to present the preliminary clinical and radiographic results in a case series of 13 consecutive patients at a mean follow-up of 29 months. Methods: All patients were treated with the presented procedure for Ahlback grade 3 medial compartment osteoarthritis. Subjective evaluation was based on a visual analog scale for pain self-assessment. Objective clinical evaluation was based on Hospital for Special Surgery score. Range of motion was evaluated with a manual goniometer. Radiographic evaluation compared hip-knee-ankle angle pre- and post-operatively. Results: Clinical and functional results were satisfactory. Hospital for Special Surgery score and visual analog scale for pain self-assessment showed significant improvements (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.0002, respectively). ROM and axial alignment were not significantly different respect to pre-operative values. Conclusions: Despite the small sample size and short follow-up, this study has shown that an arthroscopic-assisted focal resurfacing of the knee in selected cases can be a viable option for early onset degenerative joint disease, providing satisfactory pain relief and good functional results at 2 years follow-up. Level of evidence: Retrospective case series, Level IV. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.