the present situation of patellofemoral arthroplasty in the management of solitary patellofemoral osteoarthritis

Patellofemoral (pf) osteoarthritis (oa) is a somewhat predominant illness, affecting up to 24% of women and 11% ofmen over the age of 55 years who suffer from symptomatic knee oa. the purposes of this narrative overview are tosummarize the present situation of patellofemoral arthroplasty (pfa) in the treatment of solitary pfoa, and to givean account of the clinical results of pfa for the management of solitary pf degenerative oa of the knee. a cochranelibrary and pubmed (medline) examination related to the position of pfa in pfoa was carried out. a number ofpublications have encountered that pfa is an efficacious treatment for solitary pfoa. additionally, a systematic reviewdescribed fairly good results of pfa survivorship and functional outcomes at short and midrun followup in the settingof solitary pfoa. success of pfa depends on accurate patient selection rather than prosthetic failure or wear. in manyreports, the main cause of pfa failure is advancement of tibiofemoral oa. in contemporary times, encouraging resultshave been accomplished by the association of pfa and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (uka). in conclusion,patients with solitary pfoa with severe anterior knee pain may be candidates for pfa. the success of the surgicalprocedure and the longrun survivorship of pfa are related to a good surgical technique and observation to meticulousindications and contraindications in patient selection. newer prostheses have also played a part to amelioratedoutcomes. pfa is an alternative for younger patients with solitary pfoa.level of evidence: iii