About Knee Replacement
What makes the knee joint so special?
Knee replacements are usually recommended in cases of debilitating pain when all conservative methods of treatment have failed to provide relief. Certain knee conditions can only be treated by surgery. They are:
- Deformity
- Severe arthritis – with night pain and compromised joint function
- Systemic arthritis
- Reduced quality of life due to pain and lack of activity from prolonged knee pain
- Knee instability
- Swollen stiff knees making bending or climbing painful
Various surgical procedure for knee replacement are:
- Traditional Knee Replacement
- Minimally Invasive Knee replacement – involves smaller incisions and preservation on tissues surrounding the joint.
- Partial Knee Replacement
- Total Knee Replacement
Knee replacements implants are made of materials like Cobalt-Chromium, Titanium, or Zirconium. There are various ways in which of fixing an implant, such as cemented, cement-less or hybrid fixation.
Based on patient’s physique, joint condition, and other medical conditions the doctor has to choose from an array of implant types and designs, for instance:
- Mobile or Fixed-bearing implants;
- Cruciate-retaining or Bicruciate-retaining design; and
- Posterior-stabilized or Unicompartmental implant.
Often the choice of implants depends on patients activity aspirations post-surgery and budget for surgery.
