Patellofemoral arthroplasty versus total knee arthroplasty in patients with isolated patellofemoral osteoarthritis.

We identified all patients at our institution who underwent patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) as treatment for isolated patellofemoral arthritis (PA) between January 2003 and December 2005. Twenty-three PFA and 22 TKA patients met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 60 years and 69 years, respectively (P = .01). Mean follow-up was 29 months (range, 24 to 49 months) in the PFA group and 27 months (range, 24 to 33 months) in the TKA group. Mean postoperative Knee Society Clinical Rating System scores were 89 and 90 in the PFA and TKA cohorts, respectively. Mean UCLA scores were 6.6 and 4.2, respectively (P<.0001). Mean blood loss (P = .03) and hospital stay (P = .001) were significantly lower among PFA patients. Linear regression analysis showed that blood loss, hospital stay, and functional outcomes were not affected by age as an independent variable. No significant complications occurred in the PFA group. There was one deep vein thrombosis in the TKA group. We conclude that PFA yields clinical outcomes comparable to that of TKA as treatment for isolated PA and may be a less invasive option for this select subgroup of patients.