Evaluation of a minimally aggressive method of patellofemoral osteoarthritis treatment at 10 years minimum follow-up

A Review of the Lateral Patellofemoral Joint: Anatomy, Biomechanics, and Surgical Procedures

“…Yercan et al 37 demonstrated maintenance of long-term functional improvement after partial lateral patellectomy, as measured by knee society scores. Lopez-Franco et al 40 in a retrospective study on middle-aged to elderly patients who underwent lateral facetectomy for lateral patellofemoral arthritis with the 10-year follow-up found improved knee society scores in 84% of patients and 30% conversion rate to total knee arthroplasty. A prospective study of 20 patients with a mean follow-up of 2 years found lateral facetectomy with lateral retinacular release resulted in a “moderate-to-good” result in 90%, which is defined as pain improvement in all patients with some improvement in long distance walking and stair climbing.…”

Operative Treatment Options for Patellofemoral Arthritis: An Expert Recommendation of the AGA Patellofemoral Committee

“…With this relatively small and technically simple procedure, good long-term results can be achieved. In a study published by López-Franco et al 14 with a follow-up of 10 years, only 33% of patients had to undergo knee replacement after lateral partial facetectomy. Similar positive results were found in the study by Wetzels and Bellemans.…”

Editorial Commentary: Isolated Patellofemoral Osteoarthritis May Be Treated Arthroscopically: Arthroscopic Partial Lateral Facetectomy Is a Good Alternative to More Aggressive Techniques

“…Partial lateral facetectomy is a minimally invasive procedure, simple and effective enough in selected patients up 10 years after the surgery. 5 Benefits of the arthroscopic techniques generally include decreased bleeding, less postoperative pain, ability to treat concomitant pathology, and better cosmesis. The arthroscopic lateral patellar facetectomy, first described by Ferrari, 6 may be a satisfactory solution to treat isolated symptomatic PFOA.…”

“…Also, the authors do not describe the congruence angle before or after the index operation, but they reported a significant improvement of lateral patellar subluxation at final follow-up (from 57% of lateral patella subluxation before the surgery to 15% at the last follow-up). López-Franco et al have reported 5 lateral patella subluxation in 27% of patients that did not undergo a TKR after partial lateral facetectomy at a minimum of 10 years follow-up and 52% in the patient group that needed the knee replacement. Moreover, trochlear dysplasia has been hypothesized to play a role in the onset of isolated PFOA, and its prevalence in a group of 101 knees that underwent vertical facetectomy was 88.1%.…”