What is Knee Joint Replacement Surgery?
Growing age and the changes in the environment are responsible for any changes in the body which include weakness in the joints, injuries, or wear and tear of muscles and tissues in the body. Knee joint pains are the most common problems among people of 35+ years.
In the early ’90s, knee joint replacement surgery was a dreadful surgery but with the growing technologies and inventions, it has been easy to treat knee joint replacement with less time, enabling people to walk like before. Knee replacement is also known as Arthroplasty or sometimes Total Knee replacement. The damage or breakdown of the joint cartilage is a result of osteoarthritis most commonly observed in middle-aged or older people.
Main causes for a knee joint replacement surgery and its symptoms
The main cause for a knee joint replacement surgery is damaged or worn out of the knee joint. This causes pain while resting or any movement in the legs. The other causes that are responsible for knee joint replacement include Rheumatoid arthritis, Traumatic arthritis. People who usually are suffering from problems in climbing stairs, walking, and getting in and out in chairs will need knee replacement surgery.
Need for a Knee joint replacement surgery
The most common reason for Knee joint replacement surgery is the patient’s disability and pain. The recommendation for knee joint replacement surgery includes many reasons:
- Stiffness or severe knee pain
- Moderate or severe knee pain while resting
- Chronic knee inflammation or swelling
- Knee deformity
- Fractures or torn cartilage
- Pain due to age
What are the types of knee replacement?
Basically, there are four types of knee replacement surgery
1.Total knee replacement
2.Partial or unicompartmental knee replacement
3.Kneecap replacement
4.Complex knee replacement
1.Total knee replacement: The procedure of a total knee replacement involves replacing the joint surface at the end of your thigh bone and at the top of your shin bone. These are one of the most common and successful treatments. Some surgeons use a natural palette and sometimes a smooth plastic dome is used to cover the surface of the kneecap.
2.Partial or Unicompartmental knee replacement: In a partial or unicompartmental knee replacement, only a portion of the knee is surfaced. This is an alternative procedure to total knee replacement for those whose pain or disease is limited to certain areas. This treatment takes lesser time and is done through a smaller incision.
3.Kneecap replacement: Kneecap replacement is also known as patella of moral replacement. This surgery involves surfacing the damaged cartilage and bone with some plastic or metal components. This is also similar to partial replacement as it also involves treatment of only a section of the knee.
4.Complex knee replacement: Complex knee replacement is most commonly performed when you need a second or third joint replacement in the same knee. It is also performed in case of severe arthritis. One of the major causes for complex knee replacement is a major loss of bone due to fracture or arthritis.
Robotic knee replacement surgery:
As the name suggests, in this type of knee replacement surgery a robot is used to take up the required surgical cuts against the traditional method of manual procedure. With the immense growth in technology, it is definitely a proven and successful method of treatment with great results post-surgery. The procedure of standard robotic knee replacement with a CUVIS joint includes:
- Initial diagnosis in clinic
- CT scan
- Pre Surgical planning
- Autonomous Robotic Surgical
- Procedure
- Discharge
Depending upon the type of surgery there are different types of robots available for knee replacement. They are passive robots, active robots, and semi-active robots. The robotic knee replacement procedure is widely accepted due to a lot of benefits like the best-proven results post-surgery, maximum surgical accuracy, speedy recovery, and least human interference.
Knee replacement surgery recovery time
The recovery time for every surgery depends on the type of surgery performed. 12 weeks after the surgery are very crucial for the patient’s recovery. You might probably be able to walk on your own in 4 – 8 weeks. Strengthening of the muscles of the knee is important and hence physiotherapy is recommended. The cost of the surgery also depends on the type of surgery and varies from person to person.