The effect of multi-disciplinary treatment on surgical outcomes and kinematic gait patterns in patients undergoing primary unilateral knee unicompartmental arthroplasty: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the impact of the multi-disciplinary treatment (MDT) approach on surgical outcomes and kinematic gait parameters in patients undergoing primary unilateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA).

METHODS

Clinical data of patients who underwent UKA at the People's Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region between January 2025 and October 2025 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Based on whether patients received perioperative MDT management, they were divided into an MDT group (n = 40) and a conventional care group (n = 50). Perioperative nutrition-related indicators (including albumin, ALB), incidence of perioperative complications, total hospital length of stay, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scores, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee scores, knee range of motion (ROM), patient satisfaction, and kinematic gait parameters were measured and compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

The conventional care group showed significantly lower ALB levels on postoperative day 1 and day 3, lower maximum hip flexion, maximum knee flexion, maximum ankle dorsiflexion, lower HSS scores, smaller ROM, and lower satisfaction scores compared to the MDT group. Conversely, the conventional care group had a significantly higher incidence of postoperative complications, longer total hospital stay, and higher VAS pain scores than the MDT group. All these differences were statistically significant (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The application of an MDT model for elderly patients undergoing primary unilateral UKA can shorten the total hospital stay, reduce the incidence of perioperative complications, promote early postoperative recovery, mitigate postoperative gait kinematic abnormalities, and improve surgical efficacy and patient satisfaction.