Abstract

Objectives in treating primarily unicompartmental knee arthritis with a load-shifting brace are pain relief, compliance, brace durability, and complication-free treatment over multiple years. This was a single institution retrospective chart review, radiograph review, and telephone survey of patients treated from 1997 to 1999 with a load-shifting knee brace. Forty-six patients (49 knees) with a minimum 2 1/2-year follow-up (average 3.3 years) were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier survivorship analysis revealed that load-shifting brace use had a survival of 76% at 1 year, 69% at 2 years, and 61% at 3 years. Younger patients had a higher likelihood of longer brace use than older patients. One patient had ipsilateral leg swelling and a pulmonary embolus after initiating bracing. Eliminating the high numbers of early failures would be desirable. One should be aware of the potential complication of venous thrombosis and thromboembolism.

View details for Web of Science ID 000221807600011

View details for PubMedID 15558372