POLYETHYLENE WEAR IN METAL-BACKED TIBIAL COMPONENTS IN UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE PROSTHESES

The utilization of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) has increased worldwide and has become a favorable alternative to total knee arthroplasty in patients with isolated single compartment knee osteoarthritis. With the increase in UKA utilization, there has been an increase in the number of revisions. The two most common causes of revision include the progression of osteoarthritis in other compartments and aseptic loosening with polyethylene wear, periprosthetic fracture, bearing dislocation, infection, instability, and unexplained pain being other causes. This narrative review will provide an overview of the current literature related to polyethylene wear-related implant failure in UKA. The evolution of the UKA implant design and the important differences in wear biomechanics, survival, and clinical outcomes between metal-backed (MB), all polyethylene (AP), fixed-bearing (FB), and mobile-bearing (MoB) MB tibial components will be discussed.