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Types of knee replacement surgery?

There are 2 main types:

total knee replacement, wherever the whole joint is replaced with artificial surfaces

partial knee replacement, wherever just one broken compartment of the knee is replaced

Total knee replacement is that the additional common of those 2 procedures.

Knee anatomy

To understand a complete knee replacement, conjointly referred to as total appendage knee surgical procedure, you need to be acquainted with the structure of the knee, a posh joint that consists of 3 bones:

the femoris (thighbone)

the leg bone (shinbone)

the patella (kneecap)

Strong ligaments connect the powerful muscles of the thigh and calf to the bones round the knee to manage knee motion and performance. gristle (such because the meniscus) and different soft tissues cowl and cushion the bones to assist them glide along swimmingly.

Knee joint diagram with labels indicating the femoris, leg bone appendage, medial collateral ligament (MCL), medial cartilage, tibia, anterior symmetrical  ligament (ACL) and also the patella (kneecap)

When you bend or straighten your knee, the top of the femoris rolls against the top of the leg bone, and also the patella glides ahead of the femoris.

When the gristle that cushions the joint degrades or is worn away fully, the bones rub along and become scraped and rough. This causes inflammation referred to as degenerative arthritis, which ends up in pain and stiffness that build walking and different movement troublesome. The implants utilized in knee replacement ar swish just like the surfaces of a healthy knee.

How knee replacement surgery performed?

First, the orthopedical medico makes AN incision (cut) within the knee and moves the patella (kneecap) to the facet. If  any bone spurs (small bony growths) are gift, as generally happens in degenerative arthritis, they’ll be removed.

Next, the 2 menisci between the femoris and leg bone ar removed, as ar the anterior symmetrical  ligament (ACL) and, in some cases, the posterior symmetrical  ligament (PCL). In some kinds of knee replacement, the PCL is maintained.

During the most part of the operation, the medico cuts and take away gristle and a few bone from the higher a part of the leg bone and lower sections of the femoris. The leg bone sections removed ar 2 knobbly protuberances known as the leg bone condyles. The leg bone and femoris ar then be capped with metal implants to make new surfaces for the joint. The surface of the leg bone part mimics the form of the initial leg bone condyles. If the kneecap has conjointly degraded, the surface on its bottom may additionally be cut away and replaced with a polythene implant.

Finally, the assorted layers of tissue ar repaired with soluble sutures and also the skin incision is closed with sutures or surgical staples. A bandage are wrapped round the knee and also the patient is be taken to recovery.

Candidates for Knee Replacement Surgery

There are not any absolute age or weight restrictions for total knee replacement surgery.

Recommendations for surgery ar supported a patient’s pain and incapacity, not age. Most patients who bear total knee replacement ar age fifty to eighty, however orthopedic surgeons judge patients severally. Total knee replacements are performed with success the least bit ages, from the young juvenile person with juvenile inflammatory disease to the old patient with degenerative joint disease.