Arthritis Knee Surgery, Is It For You?

"The Many Types of Arthritis Knee Surgery"

Arthritis knee surgery is typically performed in advanced cases of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is usually referred to as “wear and tear” arthritis because the cartilage around the ends of the bones wears out from prolonged wear or an injury of the joint. As the ends of the bones become rough the knee can click, stick or sometimes lock into position. The bone on bone friction will cause pain, inflammation and loss of mobility.

If non-surgical treatments have all failed you doctor may recommend surgery. Which surgical procedure depends on the part of the knee that is damaged?

The knee has 3 sections or compartments as they are called.

Outside - or lateral compartment which typically gives overweight people the most problems.

Inside – or medial compartment which commonly leads to a bow leg.

KneeCap – or petellofemoral compartment which has been know to develop osteoarthritis too.If you have osteoarthritis confined to one compartment osteotomy or arthroscopy can be common procedures.

Osteotomy

Osteotomy is performed mostly on active people under the age of 60. It is typically used to realign one side of the knee. Its main focus is to transfer body weight off the damaged area to the opposite or healthy side of the knee. For younger patients this has been shown to prolong total knee replacement for up to 10 years. It works well for relieving pain and helps delay further progression of osteoarthritis.

Rehabilitation will last for up to 6 weeks and you will most likely be on crutches for the first 3. Stretching, flexing and low impact exercises like swimming will be the best way to strengthen and bring your knee back to normal. After rehabilitation maintaining aerobic cardiovascular fitness can help to greatly reduce further progression of osteoarthritis. Avoiding high stress exercise like running and anything that could increase you chances of a torn ligament or broken bone is best.

Arthroscopy

This type of procedure involves a small camera, arthroscope, and is a much less evasive form of arthritis knee surgery. The arthroscope which is a thin lighted tube connected to a camera, allows your doctor to see inside your knee. Arthroscopy can be used to identify how bad your arthritis is as well as, used for cutting away problem cartilage or smoothing out tissue. This is a common way to repair torn ligaments and is routinely performed on athletes.

Since very small incisions are all that’s required, recovery is usually quick, with the patient up and walking within days.

Partial Knee Replacement

Or unicompartmental knee arthroplasty as it’s sometimes called may be an option for people over 50 who are not overweight. This procedure focuses on removal of all of the most damaged cartilage and some bone, and replacing them with an implant. Much less evasive than a total knee replacement often times the patient will go home after a day or two. Success of this surgery can depend on many things but one important factor is intact ACL ligaments.

Total Knee Replacement

Most total replacements are performed on patients between 60-80 years old and stem from severe cases of osteoarthritis. A total replacement is usually advised when the patient’s pain interferes with normal everyday activities and sleep patterns. Severe knee deformity or chronic uncontrolled swelling and inflammation are also factors.

The surgery usually lasts about 2-3 hrs and requires an additional hospital stay of 3-4 days. In the surgery your doctor will remove all of the bad cartilage and some bone so he can attach an artificial joint hinge.

Physical therapy usually starts about 48 hrs after surgery and pain, stiffness, and swelling are common. It is important that patients keep up with there physical therapy and focus on low impact forms of exercise like swimming for best results.

New Arthritis Knee Surgery for Women

Back in 2007 CBS did a story about knee replacements for women. The story discussed a new type of arthritis knee surgery that caters to the smaller anatomy of women and the fact that they are more prone to receiving this surgery. You can get the whole story here.

Return from Arthritis Knee Surgery to Knee Pain