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Increased use of partial knee replacement could save the NHS £30 million per year

Partial knee replacements are as good as total knee replacements whilst being more cost effective, results from an NIHR-funded clinical trial show.

Results from the TOPKAT study (Total or Partial Knee Arthroplasty Trial), led by researchers at the University of Oxford, suggests that over five years partial knee replacement has similar, if not a slightly better clinical outcome than total knee replacement.

Using partial knee replacements could also save the NHS about £30 million per annum based on an increase of 31% usage. At present only 9% of joint replacements are partial knee replacements, yet it is thought that around 40% of patients could be suitable candidates.

The study involved 528 patients from 27 hospital sites across the UK, including 40 from Oxford's Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and three from Milton Keynes University Hospital.

Read more on the University of Oxford's Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) website.