Health and Fitness Facts

Knee replacement treatment is done to assist pain free movement in your joint. Here a damaged or diseased knee is replaced, and after surgery one can expect recovery in about six months.

Categories of Knee Replacement

There are four basic types of knee replacement categories:
- Non-constrained
- Semi-constrained
- Constrained or hinged
- Unicondylar

The most common type is the non-constrained implant. Here the artificial components that are inserted while surgery of the knee, are not joint to each other and the entire set-up relies on the patient’s ligaments and muscles stability. The semi-constrained implant provides increased stability. Constrained or hinged implants are used when a patient’s ligaments are not able to support any other type of replacement of knee or when the knees are severely damaged. The Unicondylar type treatment is done to replace only half of the knee.

Knee replacement surgery is one of the most common types of joint replacement surgery performed in world, with more than 200,000 operations per year in the United States alone.

Reducing the Cost

The cost of private knee replacement operation in a UK private hospital or clinic is around £8,000 to £10,000. For patients having this surgery in India the costs start at just £3,500!

These huge savings are also available to patients in all major industrialized countries such as the USA.

There are more patients than ever going to India to have their knee operations and this trend is set to rise dramatically.

Let’s now look at why knee replacement surgery is necessary and the benefits of having the surgery performed in India.

Knee Replacement

Knee replacement surgery (also known as total knee joint arthroplasty) is usually undertaken when knee problems associated with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have resulted in the wearing down of the knee joint.

In a total knee replacement operation, a surgeon cuts away damaged bone and cartilage from the thighbone, shinbone and kneecap, and replaces it with an artificial joint (knee prosthesis) made of metal alloys, plastics or polymers.

Diagnosing Knee Problems

Arthroscopy is a procedure used by orthopaedic surgeons to diagnose and treat knee problems.

The surgeon makes an incision, and then inserts a small instrument called an arthroscope, which gives a clear view of the inside of the knee.

The arthroscope uses fibre optics to send pictures of the inside of the knee to a television monitor. The surgeon can then determine if a knee replacement is necessary.

High Knee Replacement Success Rates

Knee replacement surgery is one of the safest surgeries of its kind, and has a 90 to 95% success rate.

However, excessive activity can cause the knee replacement to wear down or loosen and require replacement.

90 to 95% of knee implants are still functioning well 10 to 15 years after surgery, and with moderate activity levels, most knee implants can be expected to function for 15 years or more, but more strenuous activity can require more frequent replacement.

With the level of medical expertise and care available today, infection and complications are rare and the operations are straightforward.

No related posts.