Patellofemoral Arthroplasty: A Useful Option for Recalcitrant Symptomatic Patellofemoral Arthritis

Patellofemoral arthroplasty is a compartmental salvage procedure for symptomatic advanced isolated articular degeneration and arthritis. Despite a long historical precedent, until recently attempts at prosthetic resurfacing of the patellofemoral joint have met with little acceptance by the orthopedic community. Presently, increased awareness of the functional importance of the patellofemoral joint and the prevalence of pain and disability related to patellofemoral degeneration, coupled with the failure of commonly prescribed measures to relieve some patients, has spurred a rethinking of this issue. Better patient selection combined with improved prosthetic design and operative technique are contributing to published outcomes that equal or exceed many operative alternatives. Although total knee arthroplasty remains a reliable operation for older patients, younger and midlife patients may prefer a patellofemoral arthroplasty as a conservative option that retains anterior cruxiate ligament function.