Complete Knee Replacement
Complete Knee replacement surgery is a procedure that is undertaken when the knee joint has reached a stage when painful signs can no longer be checked with non-operative cure. In a knee replacement process, the damaged joint surface is removed and replaced with a metal and plastic implant.
Since a knee joint is basically a hinge joint which makes room for movement at the meeting point of thigh and the lower leg, the thigh bone (called femur) ends at the large bone of the lower leg (called tibia) at the knee joint. The purpose of a Complete Knee Replacement surgery is primarily to remove the end of the femur bone and replace it with a metallic shell. Besides this, end of lower leg bone (called tibia) is also removed and replaced with a plastic piece having a metal stem.
The other crucial part of the knee joint is the cruciate ligament located behind both sides of the knee joint. The function of this tissue is extremely critical in maintaining the balance of the person by controlling the movement of both femur and tibia, and it ensures that the knee is bending only backwards and not forwards. In a complete Knee Replacement, this ligament is either retained, sacrificed, or substituted according to the extent and nature of damage to the knee joint.
What necessitates a CKR?
Complete knee replacement surgery may remain the only option for those people who have had a history of progressive arthritis, rare destructive diseases of the joint or a severe injury to the knee joint caused by an accident. The prime reason behind most knee replacements in India is mainly due to osteoarthritis combined with Rheumatoid arthritis of knees.
Irrespective of the reason behind damage to the knee joint, the constantly increasing pain and stiffness in the patient’s knee causes him or her to invariably consider a complete knee replacement surgery at some stage during the treatment. In a majority of cases, such decisions are often taken by the surgeon after discussing the various possibilities of the outcome with the affected Patients.
Operative Procedure in a Knee replacement
The surgery gets underway by creating an opening to the side of the knee to permit access to the knee joint. The knee joint, which is made up at the meeting ends of the thigh bone (called femur) and shin bone (called tibia), is actually held in place by cruciate ligaments in the rear and kneecap (also called patella) in the front. If the patient’s cartilages are torn by an injury or worn away by an arthritic problem, the surgeon has no other option but to replace the damaged knee joint with a prosthetic one.
There are a number of methods for undertaking a Knee replacement operative procedure, which are employed according to the nature of injury and the bone constitution of the patient. Some patients may need a special bone reinforcement to keep them fixed at their designed place. In other artificial knee parts, a chemical coating is done to let the bones grow back and keep the artificial components in place.