The knee joint is composed of the medial and lateral femoral condyles, the medial and lateral tibial condyles and the patella, and is the largest and most complex joint in the body, with a high chance of injury.
Common factors that lead to knee pain, deformity, and limited movement are
1. Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by degeneration and destruction of articular cartilage and osteophytes. The clinical onset is most common in middle-aged and elderly people, more women than men. The pathology is characterized by focal degeneration of articular cartilage, dense subchondral bone (sclerosis), marginal osteochondral bone formation and joint deformity.
2.Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic erosive arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by synovitis and the resulting destruction of joint cartilage and bone, which eventually leads to joint deformity. Without regular treatment, approximately 75% of patients experience disability within 3 years.
Others: traumatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, post-tuberculous ankylosis of the knee joint, post-excision of bone tumors, etc.
About artificial knee joint replacement
If there is knee pain or movement disorder, the doctor may initially give various methods of treatment such as oral medication, injection therapy, massage and physical therapy after examining and judging the knee joint. If the results are not satisfactory after all of these treatments, you should discuss with your orthopedic surgeon to see if an artificial knee replacement is necessary.
Artificial knee arthroplasty is a surgical procedure that uses biological materials such as precision alloys and polymer polyethylene to replace the diseased knee joint, thereby effectively relieving pain and restoring the function of the knee joint. Artificial knee arthroplasty is one of the greatest breakthroughs in recent orthopedic surgery and is now widely used worldwide as an effective method to improve the function of end-stage diseased joints with recognized efficacy. The surgery can effectively relieve joint pain, correct deformities, restore and improve the motor function of the joint, and significantly improve the patient’s quality of life.
Materials of the artificial knee joint.
The artificial knee joint is designed on the basis of extremely advanced metallurgy, biomaterials, biomechanics and bone surgery. It consists of three components. The first is the femoral prosthesis, which is made of smooth and wear-resistant alloy, and can be closely and firmly combined with the lower end of the femur after special osteotomy, forming the femoral articular surface; the other is the tibial prosthesis, including two parts, one is a very wear-resistant and smooth ultra-high polymer polyethylene articular surface, under which there is a precision metal disc tray with a handle, the handle of the metal tray can be inserted into the bone marrow cavity of the upper end of the tibia and closely combined with the bone There is also a patellar prosthesis, which consists of a disc-shaped ultra-high polymer polyethylene.
What is the need for artificial knee replacement surgery?
1. Elderly patients, generally >60 years of age;
2. Severe pain in the knee joint that limits your daily activities, such as walking, walking up and down stairs, walking a few blocks and you need the help of a walker or cane;
3. Pain during the day or at night when you are resting;
4. Inflammation and edema of the knee joint that does not improve with rest or medication;
5. Deformity of the knee joint, such as O-leg or X-leg;
6.The knee joint feels stiff and has difficulty in extension and flexion;
7. Conservative treatment measures such as taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sodium glacial injection in the joint cavity and local physiotherapy are ineffective.
General procedure of surgery.
1.The nurse will prepare the skin in the surgical area and sterilize the bandage before surgery.
2.If you have surgery the next morning, you cannot eat or drink after 22:00 the night before surgery; if you have surgery in the afternoon, you cannot eat or drink after 9:30 on the same day to prevent vomiting after anesthesia.
3.After the ward nurse sends you to the operating room, you have to go through preoperative preparation such as preoperative check, fixed position, opening intravenous rehydration, etc., and then the anesthesiologist will choose the anesthesia method according to your condition and physical condition.
4.After the anesthesia takes effect, the surgeon starts the pre-operative sterilization and carries out the surgery, and the whole procedure usually takes about 1 hour.
5.After the surgery, you usually need to rest in the recovery room for 1~2 hours, and then send you back to the ward after you are fully awake from anesthesia.