Facts About Knee Replacements

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Knee replacement is becoming a common surgery being done in recent years. A total knee replacement is generally common in people older than 50 years of age. The procedure includes replacing the thigh and leg bones and sometimes even the kneecap with an artificial joint. The surgery helps people suffering from knee pain to alleviate the pain and restore normal functionality of the knee.

Some of the important facts about knee replacement are:

Fact 1: Knee replacement is also known as knee arthroplasty. W. Fergusson was the first to perform a knee replacement in 1861.

Fact 2: In earlier days, a knee replacement was common for those at least 50 years old. Now that patients in their 40s are suffering from osteoarthritis, the percentage of knee replacement surgeries has increased at a fast pace. The orthopedic surgeons are concerned about this fact since there is a lack of sufficient data available to see how these implants work in younger patients.

Fact 3: Younger knee replacement surgery patients are prone to more risks as they may need to get a new knee replacement as early as every five to ten years which may result in more bone loss.

Fact 4: Minimal invasive surgery  and patient-specific instrumentation are the recent advances in the knee replacement surgery which requires a smaller incision in comparison to traditional surgery.

Fact 5: The patients usually stay for three to five days in the hospital post-surgery.

Fact 6: Some of the complications include: infection, implant wear and failure, stiffness, neurovascular complications which are quite rare.

Fact 7: The recovery time is between six months to one year post-surgery.

Fact 8: The significant improvement is seen one month or more after the knee replacement surgery. Patients can comfortably walk after six weeks’ time with little help.

Fact 9: The patient satisfaction rate is about 98%, and about 97% of them still have their implants functioning 10 years post-surgery.

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