Indications for surgery

If your knee is severely damaged by arthritis or injury, you may find it difficult to do simple activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. You may feel pain even while sitting or lying down.

If non-surgical treatments such as medications and using walking aids no longer help, you may want to consider total knee replacement surgery. Joint replacement surgery is a safe and effective procedure to relieve pain, correct leg deformity, and help you return to normal activities.

The knee is the largest joint in the body and healthy knees are required to perform most daily activities.

Knee replacement surgery was first performed in 1968. Since then, improvements in surgical materials and techniques have greatly increased its effectiveness. Total knee replacement is one of the most successful procedures in all of medicine. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, more than 600,000 knee replacements are performed each year in the United States.

If you have just begun exploring treatment options or if you have already made the decision to undergo total knee replacement surgery, this article will help you understand more about this valuable procedure.

1- Preparation of the bone. Damaged cartilage surfaces at the ends of the femur and tibia are removed along with a small amount of the underlying bone.
2- Positioning of metal implants. The removed cartilage and bone are replaced with metal components that recreate the surface of the joint. These metal parts can be cemented or "pressurized" into the bone.
3- Resuperficialization of the kneecap. The surface below the kneecap is cut and resuperficialized with a plastic button. Some surgeons do not resuperficialize the kneecap, as the case may be.
4- Insertion of a spacer. A medical plastic spacer is inserted between the metal components to create a smooth sliding surface.