TOP 5 MOVES: Dr. Richard Berger’s Tips for UKA

Richard A. Berger, MD, says that about 15% of the knee arthroplasty procedures he performs each year are unicompartmental knee arthroplasties (UKA), noting that there has been a renewed interest in UKA in recent years due to better results with modern UKA and better patient satisfaction.

In a presentation about UKAs at ICJR’s 12th Annual Winter Hip & Knee Course, Dr. Berger discussed his top 5 tips and techniques for this procedure, including:

Do more UKAs, following appropriate patient selection criteria
Do more lateral UKAs, which aren’t as difficult as some surgeons think
Cut the tibia correctly to ensure that the tibial try is sized properly
Balance and adjust the flexion and extension gaps
Do more UKAs at your ambulatory surgery center for greater autonomy

PRO TIP: When cutting the tibia for a medial UKA, the saggital cut should be done on the apex of the tibial spine. For a lateral UKA, the saggital cut is on the lateral border of the femoral condyle. These cuts will facilitate appropriate poly coverage.

Disclosures: Dr. Berger has no disclosures relevant to this presentation.