During knee surgery, an equipment called an arthroscope is used to treat patients. The orthopedic surgeon can repair torn meniscus (Meniscectomy), torn or damaged anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), swollen (inflamed) or damaged lining of the joint (synovium), kneecap (patella) that is out of position (misalignment), small pieces of broken cartilage in the knee joint, removal of Baker’s cyst or some fractures of the bones of the knee.
Knee Replacement
If your knee is severely damaged by arthritis or injury and is hard to perform simple activities, you may want to consider total knee replacement surgery. Most knee pain is caused by just three types: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and post-traumatic arthritis.
There are four basic steps to a knee replacement procedure:
– Prepare the bone
– Position the metal implants
– Resurface the patella
– Insert a spacer
How the Knee Replacement is done
The operation is done through an incision of 6-12 inches in the Knee area. The unhealthy surfaces of the lower end of the thigh bone and the upper end of the shin bone are removed. These are replaced by artificial surfaces known as “prostheses”.
Depends on the prostheses it needs to be cemented to the bone. At the end of the operation, the skin is closed with stitches. A drain is used to remove the excess blood.
What is Included:
- All knee replacement patients need blood transfusion and anesthesia. Epidural anesthesia will be provided.
- A week or two of hospital stay after surgery is provided.
- Avoid wetting the surgical spots with water until it has thoroughly sealed and dried.
- After surgery let your body rest about a little over a month and you can resume normal activities.
- Minor pain is common after surgery, but if you feel intense pain please notify your doctor immediately
- Sick to a planned based exercise and diet routine as it will speed up recovery
After surgery of knee replacement, precautions to take are to avoid:
- High demand & high impact activities
- Repetitive lifting exceeding 50 pounds
- Vigorous walking or hiking
- Biking is a safe aerobic exercise after knee replacement.