“Early days” of partial replacement"

• Initial attempts not very successful
• High failure rate of partial replacements of early designs
• High success of total replacement

Partial knee replacements have been around for over 30 years. They were developed at about the same time as the total knee replacements were being developed. The early designs of partial replacements were not very good. There was a significant rate of failure of partial replacements in those early days.

At the same time, the total knee replacement was quickly proven to be a very good solution for an arthritic knee and so the surgeons were doing mostly total replacements. A few surgeons, however, continued to refine the design and surgical technique to arrive at what we have today.