Total Knee Replacement

For Our Patients and Their Families
New Techniques and materials for implants and an extraordinary level of protection against infection now afford patients greater relief from pain and better mobility with joint replacement surgery.

This section of the site will give you a detailed explanation of joint surgery and its benefits. We want you and your family to understand this procedure and know what to expect during your hospitalization and when you return home.

The Knee
To understand the replacement procedure you need to know how the knee is constructed and how it works. The knee is the largest joint in the body and the ability to walk easily depends upon the intricate working of the knee joint where the thigh bone meets the shin bone. These bones are separated by cartilage which acts as a cushion and allows movement. In front of these bones, the knee cap glides in a groove and provides a round shield for protection. Much of the knee's stability and its principle movements of bending and straightening depends on muscles and ligaments. In a non-arthritic knee, these elements work in perfect harmony to move the joint. The knee joint flexes, extends, and rotates as a person walks, sits, bends forward, and climbs stairs. Nature has provided a self-lubricating system of healthy, white cartilage to cover the ends of these bones. It is this smooth, slippery surface that enables the knee to glide like a well-oiled machine with no rough spots to interfere with its precise, rhythmic motion

Arthritis of the knee is a disease that affects the cartilage surface of the joint. In the arthritic knee, the cartilage has worn away and the surface of the joint becomes pitted, eroded, and even causing pain, stiffness, and instability. In the United States, the most common form of arthritis affecting the knee is osteoarthritis. It is degenerative and most often occurs in patients over the age of 50. It is usually confined to the large weight-bearing joints of the lower extremities including the hips and knees. Patients with osteoarthritis often develop large bone spurs, or osteophytes, around the joint, further limiting motion.

Rheumatoid arthritis is most often seen in younger people, particularly women. This disease usually involves the deterioration of many joint surfaces causing patients to complain of similar symptoms in their hands, feet, shoulders, hips, and knees. Other symptoms include anemia, weight loss, and repeated bouts of swelling in the affected joint along with the pain, stiffness, and instability normally associated with arthritis.

Traumatic arthritis results from severe injury which damages the joint surface and may be accompanied by torn ligaments, tendons, and muscles causing the knee to become grossly unstable. Aseptic necrosis can occur after some knee fractures even after they have healed. While some causes for this interruption in the blood supply to some part of the knee may be attributed to sickle cell disease or a reaction to medication, often there is no identifiable cause.

Infectious arthritis occurs when an infection in some other part of the body travels through the bloodstream and lodges in the knee joint. The invading bacteria and the body's response can rapidly destroy the joint cartilage within a matter of days. Open wounds into the knee joint can also cause an infectious arthritis to develop. Most patients with knee arthritis are successfully treated with prescribed medication, physical therapy, and by limiting those activities that over-stress the knee joint.

Arthrodesis is an operation that renders the knee permanently stiff and is primarily used for patients with infectious arthritis or severe post-traumatic arthritis.




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