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Knee Replacement Surgery
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A knee replacement is also called a knee arthroplasty. It can "cure" osteoarthritis of the knee and other diseases of the knee. It is done by cutting away the bone that is damaged and replacing the entire joint with a joint made of metal, polymers and high grade plastics. There is a huge selection of joints to choose from. You can talk to your doctor about what kind of knee replacement joint you would like to have. The most common reasons why you'll have a joint replacement surgery for the knee include damage related to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis involving the knees. Usually one knee joint is replaced at a time and allowed to heal until the second knee joint is replaced.
Candidates for knee replacement include those with disabling pain in the knee, especially when getting out of chairs or climbing stairs. There can even be mild to severe pain at rest, which is an indication for knee replacement surgery.
You might be a candidate for knee replacement surgery if your pain is disabling, if other treatments, such as medication and weight loss, do not work to control the discomfort. If you have a knee deformity, such as a bowing in or out of the knee, you have an increased risk of needing knee replacement. Those who are fifty five or older are at higher risk of needing a joint replacement surgery. In order to be a good candidate for this type of surgery, you need to have good health with good blood flow to the leg. There can be no chronic infections and diabetes needs to be in good control.
Risks of knee replacement surgery include stiffness of the knee, infection at the surgical site, blood clots in the legs or lungs (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus), acute heart attack, nerve damage to the leg or stroke. Fortunately, it is rare to have complications of knee replacement surgery. In fact, less than 2 percent of people have any serious complication of having the surgery.
Late side effects include infections of the implanted area, including symptoms of fever more than 100 degrees, drainage from the surgical site, shaking chills and redness or tenderness of the infection site. Unfortunately, if an artificial knee becomes infected, it usually needs to be replaced with a healthy knee after antibiotics are used to clear up the infection site. The chances of re-infection are not likely.
Artificial knees cannot last forever and, if you are young, it is likely that you will need another knee replacement, especially if you are obese or overuse the artificial knee.
The knee replacement surgery proceeds as follows: The doctor bends the knee in order to open up the joint and make the ligaments available to be seen in the surgery. An incision of 8-10 inches long is made along the front of the leg. The damaged portions of the knee are removed and cuts are made of the femur and the tibia/fibula. Sometimes doctors do a minimally invasive procedure that involves a 4 inch incision. The pieces of the artificial joint are put into the body and the joint is tested for stability. Each knee replacement surgery lasts about 2 hours or so.
After the knee replacement surgery, you will stay in the hospital for 2-3 days. You will be able to move your foot an ankle right away and will eventually be able to bear weight on the leg. You will receive prevention against deep vein thrombosis. You will gradually increase your walking on the affected leg indoors before graduating to outdoor walking. You will be taught exercises in order to keep your knee supple and moving without a lot of stiffness. You will eventually be able to walk up and down stairs, bending your knee perfectly as you ascend or descend the stairs.
Doctors will provide you with pain medication, particularly in the beginning times after surgery. After awhile you will no longer need to have pain medications except for the occasional Tylenol or Aleve if the knee aches. Most normal activities can be resumed after three to six weeks. You can drive within 4-6 weeks, particularly if you can properly bend your knee while being seated in a car. You can do low impact aerobic activity such as walking, swimming, biking or playing golf can be entertained.