The knee is the largest joint in the body. Normal knee function is required to perform most everyday activities. The knee is made up of the lower end of the thighbone (femur), which rotates on the upper end of the shin bone (tibia), and the kneecap (patella), which slides in a groove on the end of the femur. Large ligaments attach to the femur and tibia to provide stability. The long thigh muscles give the knee strength.
The most common cause of chronic knee pain and disability is arthritis. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and traumatic arthritis are the most common forms. If your knee is severely damaged by arthritis or injury, it may be hard for you to perform simple activities such as walking or climbing stairs. You may even begin to feel pain while you are sitting or lying down.
If medications, changing your activity level, and using walking supports are no longer helpful, you may want to consider total knee replacement surgery. By resurfacing, the damaged and worn surfaces of the knee can relieve pain, correct leg deformity and help resume normal activities.
You will most likely stay in the hospital for five to seven days. Walking and knee movement are important to your recovery. To restore movement in your knee and leg, your surgeon may use a knee support that slowly moves your knee while you are in bed. The device, called a continuous passive motion (CPM) exercise machine, decreases leg swelling by elevating your leg and improves your venous circulation by moving the muscles of your leg. Foot and ankle movement also is encouraged immediately following surgery to increase blood flow in your leg muscles to help prevent leg swelling and blood clots. Most patients begin exercising their knee the day after surgery.
Your Recovery at Home: Current ten-year survival rates for fixed and mobile bearing unicompartmental
knee replacements
range from 94% - 95%. The success of your surgery also will depend on how well you follow your orthopaedic surgeon's instructions at home during the first few weeks after surgery.
Activity: Exercise is a critical component of home care, particularly during the first few weeks after surgery. You should be able to resume most normal activities of daily living within 3 to 6 weeks following surgery. Some pain with activity and at night is common for several weeks after surgery. Most individuals resume driving approximately 4 to 6 weeks after surgery.
UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT: Although not as common as
total knee replacement
, the
partial or unicompartmental knee replacement
(commonly called the "uni") is a viable alternative in limited situations. The designs of the unicompartmental types of knee replacements have improved over the years, as has the sophistication of the instruments used to implant these types of artificial joints. The unicompartmental knee replacement also has smaller, less invasive incisions.
The unicompartmental knee replacement is used to replace a single compartment of the arthritic knee. The knee joint has three compartments: the medial (inner) compartment, the lateral (outer) compartment, and the patellofemoral (kneecap) compartment. If the damage is limited to either the medial or lateral compartment, that compartment may be replaced with the unicompartmental knee implant.
If two or more compartments are damaged, unicompartmental knee replacement may not be the best option. Unicompartmental knee replacement is also less desirable for a young, active person because it may not withstand the extremes of stress that high levels of activity create. It is best suited for the older, slim person with a relatively sedentary lifestyle.
Because the unicompartmental knee replacement can be inserted through a relatively small incision (approximately 3 to 4 inches long), which does not interrupt the main muscle controlling the knee, rehabilitation is faster, hospitalization is shorter, and return to normal activities is more rapid than after a
total knee replacement
. Artemis Health Institute is pioneer in this surgery.
MINIMALLY INVASIVE KNEE REPLACEMENT: A recent advance in the performance of
total knee replacement
is the use of minimally invasive surgical approaches. This technique is more challenging than standard
total knee replacement
. The incisions are approximately half the size of those used in a standard approach. The smaller incisions and new techniques to expose the joint may result in short-term advantages such as a quicker rehabilitation, less pain, and a shorter hospitalization, according to some reports.
The minimally invasive approach to the total knee replacement is appropriate for non-obese patients who have reasonable motion without significant deformity. Hospitalization may be reduced to 1 to 3 days among these patients, and the need for an extended stay for inpatient rehabilitation may be reduced or eliminated in most patients.
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Shoulder Surgery ,
Centre for Joint Replacements,
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Centre for Joint Replacements,
Arthritis arthroscopy,
Hip Replacement,
Shoulder Replacement,
Knee Replacement,
Custom Fit Total Knee Replacement
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