When knee pain holds you back and your scans show damage limited to one part of the knee, you might not need a total knee replacement at all. Partial knee resurfacing — sometimes called a partial knee replacement — is a highly effective option that treats only the damaged part of your knee and preserves the healthy parts.
🦵 What is Partial Knee Resurfacing?
In a partial knee resurfacing, only the worn-out section of your knee’s surface is replaced with a carefully shaped metal and plastic component. The other two-thirds of your knee — the healthy bone, cartilage, and ligaments — stay put.
That means a smaller incision, less pain after surgery, and faster recovery. Even better, most patients feel like they have a more “natural knee” after partial knee replacement because most of the knee is your own.
✅ Who is it for?
If most of your pain is located in one part of the knee — usually the inside (medial) compartment — and scans confirm good cartilage and intact ligaments elsewhere, you may be a good candidate.
🔬 What Does the Evidence Say?
Partial knee replacements have been studied closely. A 2019 review published in the Bone & Joint Journal found that partial knee replacements led to quicker recovery, shorter hospital stays, and better function in the first two years after surgery compared to total knee replacements.
Long-term data also looks promising. The Oxford Group published in Lancet (2019) that at 10 years, partial knee replacements had high success rates — over 90% survived without needing further surgery. Even more telling, these patients often returned to sports and low-impact activities faster than those who had a total knee replacement.
And what about safety?A study in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery in 2020 found that partial knee replacement patients had fewer complications — including less bleeding and a lower risk of blood clots — when compared to total knee replacements.
🏆 Benefits of Partial Knee Resurfacing
Preserves natural knee movement and feel
Smaller incision and less pain after surgery
Quicker recovery and faster return to sports and daily life
Less blood loss and shorter hospital stay
Easy to revise if a total knee replacement is ever needed in the future
⚖️ When is Total Knee Replacement Still a Better Choice?
If all three compartments of the knee are affected by arthritis or you have significant deformity or stiffness, total knee replacement remains the best option. Total knee replacements have a long track record — over 90% last more than 15–20 years (New England Journal of Medicine, 2017) — making them a very reliable choice for advanced arthritis.
🤔 What Should You Do Next?
If you’re dealing with persistent knee pain and wondering if you need a total knee replacement — you might not!
✅ Book a consultation with us at Wessex Knee.
✅ Bring along your scans so we can review them together.
✅ Together, we’ll craft a plan that matches your anatomy, goals, and lifestyle.
Your knee pain doesn’t have to control you — let’s help you get back to enjoying the life you deserve.
References for the curious:
Beard DJ et al. The Lancet. 2019.
Liddle AD et al. The Bone & Joint Journal. 2019.
Carr AJ et al. NEJM. 2017.
Peersman G et al. JBJS Am. 2020.
💬 Contact Us at Wessex Knee to explore partial knee resurfacing as a solution tailored just for you.