Which Knee Surgeries Can Be Performed To Recover From Arthritis?
27 DecGenerally, patients who have knee arthritis consider a knee replacement surgery when they experience pain or functional limitations in their knee. Some patients prefer opting for non-surgical solutions like medications, therapies, exercises, and walking aids. But, when these solutions don’t seem to better the condition of the patients even after months of usage, a knee surgery is the only option.
The most traditional option for surgery is total knee replacement in Bangalore; however, many other novel options are coming up to suit various requirements of the patients. These include partial knee replacement, knee arthroscopy, knee osteotomy, and cartilage repair/restoration. Each of these has its own benefits and limitations. Also, it must be noted that a surgery that works well for one patient may not necessarily work well for another. This is why it is important to consult a surgeon who can decide the most suitable surgery for you, based on your health condition, age, weight, lifestyle, etc.
Total knee replacement surgery
As the name clearly says, total knee replacement surgery involves replacing the entire knee joint. The damaged ends of both the shin bone and thigh bone are cut, and capped with appropriate prostheses. These pieces are made either of plastic or metal. It generally takes 4 to 6 weeks for the patient to partially recover, and then with months of care and rest, completely recovery is possible.
Partial knee replacement surgery
Partial knee replacement is when only one compartment of the knee that is damaged is removed and replaced. It could be either the inner knee (medial compartment), outer knee (lateral compartment), or the front of the knee (patellofemoral compartment). This surgery helps to replace only the damaged compartments, while preserving the healthy areas, keeping them intact. However, partial knee replacement is not suitable for patients who are bow-legged or knock-kneed. Also, patients with severe knee stiffness, inflammatory arthritis, or ligament damage are not eligible for this surgery. partial knee replacement involves lesser pain and faster recovery, but the reliability level is lower than total knee replacement.
Knee arthroscopy
This surgery requires only small incisions to be made through which the surgeon can insert a video camera and surgical tools to analyze the joint degeneration. Also, knee debridement can be performed on the knee along with this assessment, to trim or smooth out irregular cartilage, remove inflamed synovial tissue, or remove loose pieces of bone and cartilage. It can take the patient around 6 to 8 weeks to recover after this surgery.
Knee osteotomy
In the knee osteotomy, the surgeon cuts into the thigh bone or shin bone, and removes a small wedge of bone, or adds a small wedge of bone, as required. This surgery is used for younger patients who are physically active and have a lot of wear and tear on only one side of the knee joint. Therefore, this surgery re-aligns the knee joint to shift more pressure on the good side of the joint, and reduce the wear and tear on the bad side. Post surgery, the patient will have to undergo rigorous physical therapy to be able to gain back total functioning and movement of the knee. With a successful knee osteotomy, the need for a total knee replacement can be postponed for up to 10 years! However, the knee in this case will take up to an year to be completely restored.
Cartilage repair/restoration
Damaged cartilage can be repaired through various types of surgeries like bone marrow stimulation, ACI, and OATS procedures. In all of these surgeries, healthy cartilage is grown or transplanted. However, these surgeries can only be performed on younger patients who have damaged their cartilage through strenuous exercises or sports injuries, and not on older patients who have damaged their cartilage through years of gradual wear and tear.