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About knee replacement surgery recovery time

admin — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 07:13:15 +0000

Recovery times for any type of medical procedure, including knee replacement surgery, vary from person to person depending on the individual’s health.
Recovery in the Hospital: Most probably, the patient would need to be in the hospital for around 3 to 5 days post surgery. Majority of patients are asked to stand the next day after the surgery. Here, the type of surgery comes in the picture. The partial knee replacement surgery recovery takes less time than the time needed for a double knee replacement surgery recovery. If patients can bear the weight, they are allowed to walk with the help of a walker in a couple of days. After a few days, the patients start on their physiotherapy and knee exercises. Before that, ankle and feet exercises are advised to avoid blood clotting and swelling.

Recovery at Home: Home is where most of the time is spent after the surgery, which is several weeks after you are discharged from the hospital. The first phase of rehabilitation to physiotherapy at home with strength building exercises is around 3 to 6 weeks. After that, the routine activities can be carried out though gradually. For the first few weeks, kneeling and squatting is not advisable. You can drive after you get used to your routine activities, but that too depends upon how much you can bend your knee. The total with all the factors responsible for that (your general health, your response to physiotherapy, no complications and so on) is 2 to 3 months. In case there are any knee replacement surgery complications, then the things could be different.

About knee transplant surgery

admin — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:30:53 +0000

A knee transplant, or a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) involves removing the natural, damaged knee, and replacing it with a mechanical implant that will mimic the action of the natural knee.

Literally, the surgeon removes the knee bone and cartilage, the tissue that holds the muscle to bone. This is replaced by the implant of metal and plastic.

There are different types of implants a surgeon can use. Some implants are cemented; they are fixed to the bone. Others are fit into the knee area and the bone around the knee grows around it holding it into position.

ONE way for surgeons to repair injured knees is to take cartilage and bone from another part of the knee and transplant it in the damaged area.

Now companies are developing potentially simpler knee patches: small, off-the-shelf plugs engineered to mimic the composition of human bone and cartilage.

These ready-made cylinders can be inserted in an arthroscopic procedure; they are often used after a sports injury. They are known as osteochondral scaffolds, because they support new bone and cartilage as it grows.

“The scaffold guides the tissue formation of bone on one side and cartilage on the other,” Dr. Gibson said.

The scaffold disappears in about six months. “Over time the cells that attach to the scaffold produce enzymes that dissolve it,” Dr. Gibson said. At the same time, the cells are putting down their own matrix.

knee transplant

knowledge of knee replacement surgery

admin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:41:16 +0000

Knee replacement, or knee arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve the pain and disability of osteoarthritis. It may be performed for other knee diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. In patients with severe deformity from advanced rheumatoid arthritis, trauma, or long standing osteoarthritis, the surgery may be more complicated and carry higher risk. Osteoporosis does not typically cause knee pain, deformity, or inflammation and is not a reason to perform knee replacement.

Other major causes of debilitating pain include meniscus tears, cartilage defects, and ligament tears. Debilitating pain from osteoarthritis is much more common in the elderly.

Knee replacement surgery can be performed as a partial or a total knee replacement. In general, the surgery consists of replacing the diseased or damaged joint surfaces of the knee with metal and plastic components shaped to allow continued motion of the knee.

The operation involves substantial postoperative pain, and includes vigorous physical rehabilitation. The recovery period is 6 weeks or longer and involves use of a walker and then a cane.

What is a total knee replacement?

A total knee replacement is a surgical procedure whereby the diseased knee joint is replaced with artificial material. The knee is a hinge joint which provides motion at the point where the thigh meets the lower leg. The thigh bone (or femur) abuts the large bone of the lower leg (tibia) at the knee joint. During a total knee replacement, the end of the femur bone is removed and replaced with a metal shell. The end of the lower leg bone (tibia) is also removed and replaced with a channeled plastic piece with a metal stem. Depending on the condition of the kneecap portion of the knee joint, a plastic “button” may also be added under the kneecap surface.

The posterior cruciate ligament is a tissue that normally stabilizes each side of the knee joint so that the lower leg cannot slide backward in relation to the thigh bone. In total knee replacement surgery, this ligament is either retained, sacrificed, or substituted by a polyethylene post. Each of these various designs of total knee replacement has its benefits and risks.

Total Knee Replacement

Total knee replacement (arthroplasty) has proven to be a very effective surgical treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee for many years. Relatively recently, however, partial knee replacement (also known as unicondylar knee replacement) has emerged as a possible – and viable – option for certain patients.

For the treatment of end stage arthritis of the knee, total knee replacement is a very predictable surgery with an excellent outcome. It promises a return to activities of daily living, walking, and a life with no (or minimal) pain. The results for total knee arthroplasty over the last 20 years have shown continuous improvement in knee function as well as durability of the surgery, and most patients today can expect a ten year implant survival rate in the range of 95% and a 20 year survival rate in the range of 85% – 90%. This means that 20 years after surgery, nine out of ten patients will still have a functioning implant and will not need another surgery. These promising outcomes have resulted in the widespread use of total knee arthroplasty for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee.