• Moo-Ho Song, Bu-Hwan Kim, Seong-Jun Ahn, Seong-Ho Yoo, and Seung-Ho Shin.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Daedong General Hospital, Dongrae-gu, Busan, Korea.
• Clin Orthop Surg. 2010 Dec 1; 2 (4): 232-6.

BackgroundThe authors report the results of preserving the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve during unicompartmental knee arthroplasty to prevent lateral skin numbness.MethodsAll 100 cases had medial compartmental osteoarthritis and a minimally invasive technique had been used. The mean follow-up duration was two years and eight months (range, 24 to 42 months).ResultsThe classification according to the location of this nerve was observed as either Mochida Type I with 76 cases (76%), Type II with 16 cases (16%), and unclassified type with 8 cases (8%). In Type I, the nerve was saved in 62 cases (82%), but could not be preserved in Type II because of the surgical procedure. These results showed that the mean distance from the joint line to the nerve of Type I was 9.13 mm (range, 4 to 15 mm) and the nerve passed inferiorly.ConclusionsThis study showed the location of this nerve can be predicted ahead of the procedure, which will help preserve it during the surgery.

19 keywords...

hide…