What is a total knee arthroplasty?

Very basically total knee arthroplasty or, as is commonly known, knee replacement surgery is the replacement of a badly diseased knee joint with an artificial joint. In other words the patient undergoes a knee reconstruction. The artificial joint is made of special metal alloys and high-grade plastics.

2 Who would need a total knee arthroplasty?

Knee replacement surgery is used mainly to help relieve the pain and increase mobility of the knee joint badly affected by arthritis. It is also used to correct deformities.

When all other methods of nonsurgical treatments have failed only then would knee surgery be considered. Some of the nonsurgical treatments include using anti-inflammatory drugs, losing weight, lifestyle changes and even using a cane to assist mobility.

It is used as a last resort.

3 What are the risks of total knee arthroplasty?

In the United States about 150,000 knee reconstructions are performed each year. Out of that number only about 1 to 2% of people will suffer from any serious complications.

Any surgical procedure poses risks such as infection, blood clots, damage to nerves even heart attack and strokes and that is why before undergoing total knee replacement you’ll be thoroughly assessed by your surgeon to minimize the likelihood of any of these sort of complications.

Some patients experience minor complications after total knee arthroscopy such as a feeling of stiffness in the knee. In extremely rare cases the knee joint has become infected which necessitates further surgery to remove the artificial joint followed by a course of antibiotics. A new knee joint is then fitted when the infection has ceased. This is extremely rare and should not be considered a reason to not have a total knee arthroplasty.

4 What is the success rate of a total knee reconstruction?

As mentioned above only about 2% of people suffer any complications from the surgery. That means that about 98% of patients will have a good to excellent outcome. This outcome would mean the patient suffers little to no pain, has increased movement and range of motion in the knee joint and is able to walk more than a mile unaided.

After 10 years about 90% of recipients should expect to have continued satisfactory use of the 1reconstructed knee.

5 How long does the pain last after knee replacement surgery?

If arthritis was the cause for the knee replacement surgery then the pain from arthritis usually disappears immediately. In most cases there is a noticeable reduction in pain level within one to two days after the operation.

It’s not uncommon for the pain from the surgical procedure can last for up to three weeks with noticeable reduction after the first couple of days and a progressive reduction from then on.

6 How long before full benefits of a total knee arthroplasty will be felt?

Total knee replacement surgery is a major surgical procedure on a load bearing joint and so one shouldn’t expect to be able to return to their previous lifestyle immediately. Knee surgery recovery takes time. It can take up to three months to regain most of the strength and good range of motion in the affected knee joint. This will continue to improve for up to a year after the operation when it would be expected that full benefit would be achieved.

Conclusion

Arthroplasty surgery, for most patients, is life-changing. I feel certain if you asked the question “what is a total knee arthroplasty?” to someone who has had the surgery, they would agree with that statement.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is becoming a more and more popular knee treatment method.  Here is information on using arthroscopy to regenerate knee cartilage.

Knee microfracture surgery or knee cartilage regeneration is a method used to repair damaged cartilage.  This method of orthopedic knee surgery can be used in some instances instead of necessitating a full or partial knee replacement surgery.   It can also be used to relieve the pain associated from knee cartilage injuries, knee arthritis in its early stage, lesions on the knee cap and degenerative chondral lesions of the knee.

Simply put, it is cartilage that helps to cushion the bones in the joints.

This type of knee surgery is minimally invasive with only one small incision being made to the affected knee.  this small incision, usually only a quarter of an inch long is made and an arthroscope is inserted into the knee joint.  This apparatus allows the surgeon to see inside the joint using a micro camera and to work directly on the problem.  It is another type of arthroscopic knee surgery. 

Using an awl, a tool a bit like an ice-pick, the orthopedic specialist drills a series of tiny holes or "microfractures" directly into the bone surrounding the problem cartilage.  These tiny fractures causes the body to make new cartilage to replace the defective cartilage by causing bone marrow to seep from the microfractures that creates a blood clot.  This blood clot releases cells that rebuild cartilage.

Once the procedure has been completed knee surgery recovery is relatively fast with most patients being able to participate in sports and other strenuous and intense pastimes in around four months.
 
Physical therapy of the knee commences immediately the surgery is completed, usually in the recovery room, where a continuous passive motion machine is used to gently flex and extend the leg.  This CPM machine is used for periods up to 8 hours per day for a few weeks after surgery.  It is sometimes used while the patient is sleeping.  This sort of knee therapy is thought to sped up the cartilage regeneration process.

 
For the first six to eight weeks the knee joint should not be subject to any load bearing and so crutches are needed to assist with mobility.

Like any surgery there are risks like excessive bleeding and infection.  With proper care these are minimal.
Using microfracture surgery causes new cartilage to develop.  However, this new cartilage is not as durable as the original cartilage and has been known to break down after a few years.   The patient can also be left with increased stiffness in the knee joint.

Combining of arthroscopic knee surgery and microfracture knee surgery is becoming a recognised method of rebuilding cartilage.

Kerry Northey

Panthers look to Allen’s return from microfracture knee surgery.

The 29-year-old played only two games last season before he had to go for microfracture surgery on a knee, which caused him to miss the rest of the 2008-09 campaign. 

Microfracture Knee Surgery

Cartilage damage can lead to chronic knee pain. Athletes with this problem can benefit by microfracture surgery.  

Micro Fracture Surgery Versus Stem Cells

A physician compares the results of micro fracture for a knee cartilage lesion to stem cell injection. … It’s a brilliant advance over arthroscopic debridement (surgeries where cartilage is simply “cleaned up” by cutting it out). I think that in the future we may see stem cells placed in the joint after micro fracture surgery to aid healing and we’ll also see many non-surgical, stem cell based, injection options like the Regenexx procedure. 

Gregg’s Micro Fracture Surgery

It marked Gregg’s first regular-season game back on the field after missing last season when he underwent microfracture knee surgery. "It’s good to be back," Gregg said. "I was down and out. 

Did Cofield Have Microfracture Knee Surgery?

In the wake of New York Giants defensive lineman Fred Robbins’ disclosure that he had microfracture knee surgery before later removing the information from his blog.

Robbins needed microfracture surgery

He had microfracture knee surgery, which is a much more serious procedure than the scope that Cofield had. Robbins revealed the nature of his surgery on his own website. 

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Knee orthopedic surgery ( sometimes called knee scope surgery) videos will show you what is entailed in a knee arthroscopy.

Sometimes not knowing is worse than the actual procedure.  This can be the case  with arthroscopic knee surgery.  Basically it is method used to investigate and repair damage that is causing knee pain and limitation in movement using minimally invasive surgery techniques.

The first video, an animation, explains how the knee joint works and how the surgery is performed.

The second video is a real life case.  It briefly shows the operation and covers what you can expect after the knee operation.

Arthroscopy of the Knee

Arthroscopy is literally to view a joint. The use of arthroscopy allows an orthopedic surgeon to look inside a joint and see what needs to be done. Arthroscopy is very useful in the diagnosis and treatment of problems with the knees. 

Tips For Fast Recovery After Knee Arthroscopy

Recovery from knee arthroscopy is fairly quick, especially when compared with recovery from open knee surgery. Still, it is important to follow all of your orthopedic surgeons instructions for the fastest recovery possible.

What to Expect From Arthroscopic Surgery

With knee arthroscopy, an orthopedic surgeon can get an excellent view of the interior of a patients knee. This is done by use of a very tiny camera inserted through a very tiny incision. 

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