Severely worn knee joints look like this Reminder: In osteoarthritis like this, do not get any more lubricants (sodium glassate) because not only is this treatment useless, but repeated injections can cause knee infections. Once the knee joint becomes infected, it cannot be replaced with an artificial joint. In addition, once the knee is infected, it is very difficult to treat and heal. How is an artificial replacement done and the knee joint is intact as before? 1. Remove the worn out articular cartilage and prepare the bone surface for prosthesis installation 2. Choose the right type of prosthesis (femur) according to the size of the patient’s bones 3. With the continuous improvement of the surgical concept and surgical techniques; the continuous progress of the prosthetic material and manufacturing process, the service life of the joint prosthesis has been greatly extended; at this time, the entire surgical technique and the recovery of the force line of the lower limb after the installation of the prosthesis and the intraoperative sterile cleanliness (which can lead to post-operative infection of the joint replacement, a catastrophic consequence) become the key factors of the service life of the prosthesis. A direct key factor. The knee joint is as good as new after artificial replacement Basic questions about artificial knee replacements 1. With the exception of infection, any other condition that causes severe damage to the knee joint and impairs walking function can be treated with an artificial joint replacement. The most common clinical applications for knee replacement are severe knee wear and tear in the elderly, i.e. advanced osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, traumatic knee osteoarthritis, and knee tumors. 2.What kind of material is the artificial joint made of? Will there be rejection or allergic reactions? The artificial knee joint is mainly made of titanium alloy, cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy, polyethylene and other materials. These materials are very stable in the human body and will not decompose. However, the metal ions of the cobalt-chromium-molybdenum artificial joint can enter the bloodstream, and a very small number of patients may have increased levels of these metal ions in the bloodstream, but they do not cause any symptoms. 3.How long does the artificial knee surgery take? How long is the hospital stay? The surgery usually takes about 1.5 hours. The hospital stay is usually about 5 days. Under normal circumstances, you will be able to walk with a walker in the hospital area on the first day after surgery, and you will be able to move around normally and without obstacles 1 month after surgery. 4. How many years can the artificial knee joint last? Currently, according to the data from previous surgical cases, about 90% of the artificial joints are in normal use 10 years after surgery. Twenty years after surgery, about 80% or more of the joints are functioning well. The artificial joints currently in use are more advanced in design, more advanced in process, and the surgeons are more experienced, so the results will be better in the future. 5. Can older people with poor health have joint replacements? The majority of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee are elderly, and medical problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes are common. 6. What are the main complications of artificial knee joint? In addition to the same risks of anesthesia and wound infection as other surgeries, there are some specific risks associated with artificial knee replacement surgery, such as late stage infection. This infection occurs at a rate of about 1 in 100, but it can occur in both state-of-the-art space-grade operating rooms and standard operating rooms. Once this infection occurs, the artificial joint has to be removed in most cases, the infected area thoroughly cleaned, and a new artificial joint re-installed after the infection is completely eliminated. Another more serious complication is deep vein thrombosis, which can cause stroke and pulmonary embolism in severe cases of thrombus dislodgement, but the risk of this is extremely low, at 1/1000 to 1/10,000.