Is Total Knee Replacement Surgery Helpful?

Total knee replacement surgery is also known as knee arthroplasty. It can help relieve pain and restore function in severely diseased knee joints. During a knee replacement operation, the surgeon cuts away the damaged bone and cartilage from your thighbone, shinbone and kneecap and replaces it with an artificial joint made of metal alloys, high-grade plastics and polymers.



The first artificial knees were little more than crude hinges. But, now you and your doctor can choose from a wide variety of designs that take into account your age, weight, activity level and overall health. Most knee replacement joints attempt to replicate your knee's natural ability to roll and glide as it bends.



Knee replacement is for people with severe knee damage. The surgery can relieve pain and allows you to become more active. Your doctor may recommend this type of procedure if you experience knee pain, and medicines and other treatments are not helping you anymore. Whether to undergo total knee replacement surgery should be a cooperative decision made by you, your family members, your family physician, and your orthopedic surgeon. Your family doctor may refer to an orthopedic surgeon for a thorough evaluation to determine if you could benefit from this type of surgery. Apart from traditional total knee replacement surgery, your orthopedic surgeon may discuss with you includes a unicompartmental knee replacement or a minimally invasive knee replacement.



Reasons that you may benefit from total knee replacement commonly include:



• Severe knee pain that limits your everyday activities, including walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of chairs. You may find it hard to walk more than a few blocks without significant pain and you may need to use a cane or walker.



• Moderate or slight pain in knee while resting, either day or night.



• Chronic knee inflammation and swelling that does not improve with rest or medications.



• Knee deformity: a bowing in or out of your knee.



• Knee stiffness: inability to bend and straighten your knee.



• Failure to obtain pain relief from anti-inflammatory drugs. These medications often are most effective in the early stages of arthritis. Their effectiveness in controlling knee pain varies greatly from person to person. These drugs may become less effective for patients with severe arthritis.



• Inability to tolerate or complications from pain medicines.



• Failure to substantially improve with other treatments such as cortisone injections, physical therapy, or other surgeries.





Most patients who undergo total knee replacement surgery are of 60 to 80 years of age, but orthopedic surgeons evaluate patients individually. Recommendations for surgery are based on patient’s pain and disability, not age. Total knee replacement operation can be performed at all ages from a young teenager with juvenile arthritis to the elderly patient with degenerative arthritis.



Your orthopedic surgeon is a medical doctor with extensive training in the diagnosis and non-surgical and surgical treatment of the musculoskeletal system, including bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves. Thus, he/she can provide you the best treatment for your arthritis knee pain.