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Knee Replacements
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Knee replacement Surgery Knee replacement, or knee arthroplasty, is a common surgical procedure most often performed to relieve the pain and disability from degenerative arthritis, most commonly osteoarthritis, but other arthritides as well. Major causes of debilitating pain include meniscus tears, osteoarthritis, cartilage defects, and ligament tears. Knee replacement surgery can be performed as a partial or a total knee replacement. |
In general, the knee surgery consists of replacing the diseased or damaged joint surfaces of the knee with metal and plastic components shaped to allow continued motion of the knee.
Incapacitating pain from injury or arthritis of the knee that affects everyday activities -- particularly walking and standing -- is the main reason to consider knee replacement surgery.
The procedures for knee replacement have changed significantly in the last few years. Surgeons now have access to improved prostheses, and it's rarely necessary any more to cut through muscle to access the knee joint for surgery. The "muscle-sparing approach" allows a surgeon to employ computer-navigated equipment to align the knee implant.
Over the last years, promising techniques have been elaborated to postpone or even prevent the need for (partial) knee replacement in the case of articular cartilage damage. These articular cartilage repair procedures help people suffering from cartilage damage to regain their mobility without having to undergo the heavy consequences of knee replacement.
The surgery involves exposure of the front of the knee, with detachment of part of the quadriceps muscle (vastus medialis) from the patella. The patella is displaced to one side of the joint allowing exposure of the distal end of the femur and the proximal end of the tibia.
The ends of these bones are then accurately cut to shape using cutting guides oriented to the long axis of the bones. The cartilages and the anterior cruciate ligament are removed; the posterior cruciate ligament may also be removed but the collateral ligaments are preserved. Metal components are then impacted onto the bone or fixed using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) cement.
A round ended implant is used for the femur, mimicking the natural shape of the bone. On the tibia the component is flat, although it often has a stem which goes down inside the bone for further stability.
A flattened or slightly dished high density polyethylene surface is then inserted onto the tibial component so that the weight is transferred metal to plastic not metal to metal. During the operation any deformities must be corrected, and the ligaments balanced so that the knee has a good range of movement and is stable. In some cases the articular surface of the patella is also removed and replaced by a polyethylene button cemented to the posterior surface of the patella. In other cases, the patella is replaced unaltered.
Info about Knee Replacement Surgery | Total Knee Replacement Surgery | Knee Replacment
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