Accelerated rehabilitation following Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: five-year results from an independent centre

The purpose of this study was to analyse the midterm outcomes of an accelerated rehabilitation programme for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. One hundred and six patients (187 knees) underwent a minimally invasive Phase 3 Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty with an accelerated rehabilitation programme and were followed over the first 5 years. The emphasis of the programme was pre-operative patient education, multidisciplinary discharge planning and early rehabilitation. On retrospective analysis, patients reported a significant improvement in functional outcomes and quality of life in respect of Oxford knee score, American knee score and short form-12 outcomes (P < 0.05). These improved clinical outcomes were then maintained during the 5-year period. The results support the use of accelerated rehabilitation to optimise early hospital discharge without jeopardising early and midterm outcomes. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.