If you are living with chronic knee pain caused by disease or injury, then you might be exploring options to help relieve your symptoms. The first step is to try conservative techniques, such as physical therapy, heat, ice, bracing and medication. If this has failed to help, you might be considering surgery. Depending on your diagnosis and the severity of the damage to the joint, you may be a candidate for a partial knee replacement. However, only certain patients are candidates for this option.
Identification
If you knee joint was damaged due to a disease, such as arthritis, or an injury, you may need a partial knee replacement to help manage your symptoms. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, medical advances in partial knee replacements have made surgery more common. Instead of having to remove and replace the entire knee joint, a partial knee replacement removes only the damaged area.
Benefits
A partial knee replacement allows for more of the natural knee to stay in place, which leaves you with better range of motion and knee function, an easier time during surgery due to less bleeding and faster recovery. It is also less expensive than a total knee replacement. Another benefit is that since much of the normal knee is left, you can still have a total knee replacement later on, if needed. Many patients can go home the day after surgery and can place their full weight on the knee right away. A partial knee replacement also required less physical therapy after the procedure.
Considerations
Only certain patients are candidates for a partial knee replacement. You must meet certain criteria. Your arthritis or knee damage must be confined to a specific area within the joint. There needs to be minimal inflammation, the ligaments and tendons need to be intact, and the joint cannot be dislocated. Your doctor will need to take x-rays or MRIs to determine if a partial knee replacement is right for you.
Features
A partial knee replacement is also called unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that this surgery aims to replace just the inside or outside section of the knee, versus replacing the whole joint. However the NIH also notes that if you are obese, over age 60 and sedentary, or have significant ligament damage, this will tend to place a lot of heavy work on the knee after surgery, and you may need a total knee replacement.
Process
Your surgeon will place you under general or local anesthesia. During this surgery, which takes about one and a half hours, the part of your bone that is damaged is removed and replaced with a prosthesis made of either metal or plastic. The parts of the bone that are being left in may need to be reshaped for the prosthesis to fit tightly. Then, the prosthesis is glued into place.
