What is knee replacement?
Knee replacement surgery is a technique first used in 1968 in which the doctors replace the knee joint with pieces of metal alloy, polymer, and synthetic plastic. Since, 1968 the improvements in surgical techniques and materials greatly increase the effectiveness of knee replacement surgery. Total knee replacement is one of the most successful surgical procedures in the history of medicine. Whether you are just exploring the treatment options or already deciding to have total knee replacement surgery. It is important to understand a lot of things before getting this procedure done. If your knee is suffering from severe damage due to an injury or arthritis, then it may be hard for you to perform daily activities such as climbing stairs or even walking.
If non-surgical treatment such as walking supports and medications are no longer beneficial then you might want to consider total knee replacement surgery. Total knee replacement surgery also known as knee arthroplasty is an effective and safe procedure to help in correcting leg deformity to relief pain and helping you to resume daily activities. In the procedure of total knee replacement surgery a surgeon resurfaces the damaged knee by either plastic or metal parts to cap the bony ends forming the knee joint. The option of total knee replacement surgery is only for those who have severe knee injury or severe arthritis. [1]
Numerous types of arthritis might affect the knee joint. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease which affects mainly the older adults and middle aged people in general. There is a breakdown of adjacent joint cartilage and bone in the knees in case of osteoarthritis patients. Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation of the synovial membrane resulting in the accumulation of synovial fluid thus leading to stiffness and pain. Another arthritis resulting from the damage to the cartilage of the knee due to an injury is known as traumatic arthritis. The focus of doing knee replacement surgery is to replace the parts of the knee joint that suffer irreparable damage to relive the pain and make the life better for the patient.