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Replacement of Knees: What Type of Surgery Available

What is knee replacement surgery?

Knee arthroplasty or knee replacement is a surgical procedure performed to replace the surfaces of the knee joint, to give relief from the disability and pain of osteoarthritis. It can also be performed for some other knee diseases like psoriatic arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. For patients suffering from more severe deformity caused by trauma, long standing osteoarthritis or advanced rheumatoidarthritis, this surgery may involve a higher risk, or it may become more complicated.

The surgery for knee replacement may be conducted as partial or total knee replacement. Broadly speaking, it involves the replacement of the damaged or diseased knee joint surfaces with plastic or metal components, which are shaped so that they allow continued knee motion.

How painful is it?

The operation for knee replacement can lead to strong postoperative pain and requires sustained physical rehabilitation. The recovery period can be six weeks or longer, and the patient may require the use of aids (such as canes, crutches or frames) to help him return to mobility.

The surgery for knee replacement is the most common joint replacement procedure conducted on patients. While many people suffer from knee arthritis, it is difficult to figure out which is the right time to go in for a knee replacement.

What exactly is arthritis?

Arthritis means inflammation of joints. Most people think that arthritis is the wearing away of the cartilage in a joint, which is actually the end result of the inflammation in the joint. In the course of time, inflammation can cause cartilage loss and exposed bone, in place of a smooth and normal joint surface.

Osteoarthritis is the most common category of knee arthritis. It is often also referred to as wear and tear arthritis, as it causes the wearing away of the smooth, normal cartilage till the bare bone is exposed. There are other types of arthritis such as gouty arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus arthritis.

Are you ready for knee replacement?

Knee replacement surgery is performed only when the painful symptoms in the knee joint cannot be controlled with the help of non operative treatments any longer. In this procedure, your surgeon will remove the damaged surface of the joint and replace it with a plastic or metal implant.

The decision to have a total knee replacement is a critical one since it is a major surgery. There are some signs you should look out for to help you decide whether the time is right or not for a knee replacement procedure.

What are the signs that you are ready?

Only those patients who have tried all other treatments and still experience a lot of pain doing their normal activities should decide to go in for knee replacement. People who experience only occasional pain, or can take part in athletic activities, or have not yet tried out non operative treatments, are not ready for knee replacement. The non-operative treatments include activity modification, weight loss, joint supplements, anti- inflammatory medications and cortisone injections.

Implants

During knee replacement surgery, the damaged joint lining is removed and the joint surfaces are replaced with a plastic or metal implant that functions like a normal knee. The implants wear out over time, so knee replacements are very rarely performed on younger patients, because of concern over the implant which may wear out too quickly.

About Author

Mark is a certified nursing assistant and shares his passion on topic of nursing assistant at his cna training blog.