Apr 7, 2013 3 min read

Knee replacement, or joint replacement surgery, is a surgical procedure that is performed to replace worn-out cartilage. Cartilage is the soft tissue, which lines the ends of the bones and cushions the joints. According to Dr. Allan Tissenbaum, of Washington Health System Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, there are many problems that can lead to wearing of the cartilage. Once the cartilage wears out there are not many alternatives aside from joint replacement.

Cartilage can be worn out from overuse, trauma, or as a result of previous surgery. One of the largest contributing factors in our society is being overweight. If you are overweight this may lead to the development of arthritis more quickly. Excess weight puts more stress on the lining of the bones, and once this cartilage begins to wear away, the body is unable to rebuild the cartilage.

In a knee replacement the goal is to restore function and to decrease pain. Before considering knee replacement, a person should have gone through a trial of conservative therapy. This may include medications, knee injections, weight loss and/or physical therapy. If you have tried these treatments and your pain and function are still a problem, you might consider replacement surgery.

Since there is no way to totally replace the worn-out cartilage during surgery, the surgeon will replace the worn out cartilage with a prosthetic knee made of metal and plastic. The metal parts sit on the bottom of the femur and the top of the tibia (these are the two major leg bones). Between these metal parts there is a plastic liner that is placed in the knee.

The surgery can be customized to the patient. Depending on what part of the knee is worn, a surgeon may elect to only replace the worn out part and leave the more normal parts of the knee alone. These partial knee replacements tend to function better and have a quicker recovery. Patients feel that these feel more like their original knee.

Joint replacement surgery is major surgery. Most patients spend two to four days in the hospital. Prior to undergoing this type of surgery there are a few very important concepts to understand. You have to be patient and very compliant with your postoperative care and therapy. The physical therapy after surgery can last anywhere from three to eight weeks. Aside from the formal therapy, it is very important to do daily exercises on your own. You can expect a complete recovery in two to six months. The goal of this or any replacement surgery is to restore function and to decrease pain, to enable patients to lead a more normal and full life.

For more information, visit www.washortho.com/.