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| Knee Joint Replacement Surgeries |
| General Information about the Knee |
| Anatomy of the Knee |
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The anatomy of the knee consists of bones, ligaments, cartilages and tendons.
The bones involved are the Femur (the thigh bone), the Tibia (the shinbone) and the patella (the knee cap). The ligaments involved are collateral and cruciate ligaments. Ligaments are another type of soft tissue. They hold the bones of the joint together.
Cartilage is a layer of smooth, soft tissue. It covers the ends of the thigh bone and shin bone, and it lines the underside of the kneecap. Healthy cartilage absorbs stress and allows the knee to glide easily without pain. Tendons attach the muscles to the bones.
The knee joint allows _ us to move in different ways.The move-ments are called extension, flexion and rotation. A healthy knee bends easily because the joint absorbs stress and glides smoothly. This allows you to walk, squat and turn without pain. But when the knee is damaged, the joint may lose its ability to cushion stress. \t>u may feel pain during movement or even when you are at rest. The knee is a hinge point formed where the thigh bone and shin bone meet. When the knee is healthy, the joint moves freely. This is because the joint is covered with slippery tissue and powered by large muscles. |
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| Diseases of the Knee |
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Malformations: Knock-Kneed (Valgus) or Bow-Legged (Varus) knee |
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Cartilage Degeneration |
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Osteoarthritis |
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Secondary Osteoarthritis |
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Accidents-Resulting in injury to bone or joint parts. |
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Osteoarthritis |
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Secondary Osteoarthritis |
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Accidents-Resulting in injury to bone or joint parts. |
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| Symptoms |
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| X-ray of an Arthritic Knee |
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Pain on walking, standing or on moving the joint |
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Progressive reduction in the distance you can walk without pain |
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Hardly any relief from pain even on resting & with painkillers |
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Noises from the joint while moving them |
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Difficulty in using stairs, toilet and getting up from floor or chair |
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Sensation of locking of the knee joint |
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Deformity of the knee joint |
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Pain at night/rest or pain reqiuring regular pain killers |
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Over time, wear and tear occurs due to poor alignment between Femur and Tibia on the medial side (Inside) or on the lateral side (Outside) |
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When one or more parts of the knee are damaged, joint movement suffers. Over time, cartilage starts to crack or wear away. Because cartilage cannot fully repair itself, the damage may continue to increase. At first, your knee may just be a little stiff. But as the bones of the joint begin rubbing together, you're likely to feel pain. Years of normal use can cause cartilage to crack and wear away. The first stage of destruction by arthritis involves the development of osteophytes (bony outgrowth). And overtime, even walking causes these sharp osteophytes to erode the ligament, which can lead to complete destruction of the knee. |
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| What's Involved in a Total Knee Replacement- TKR? |
| What is Total Knee Replacement? |
In principle, Total Knee Replacement or TKR is the replacement of the diseased knee joint by an artificial implant. Many decades ago, the relatively simple structure of the knee joint - the condyle of femur and distal tibia - had inspired surgeons and medical technicians to create an artificial copy, and in the course of time, follow-up examinations and improvements in operative methods and materials have led to great progress, and the optimization of total knee prosthesis.
The knee prosthesis is designed to simulate the human anatomy of knee joint and is comprised of a femoral component, tibial base plate, polyethylene insert and patellar components.
The femoral component will fit in the condyle portion of femur bone; the tibial base plate will fit on the distal tibia, polyethylene insert will act like the cartilages, the patella component will resemble the original patella. The femoral component will glide smoothly over the polyethylene insert, thus allowing you to walk, squat and turn without pain.
These components are made up, of metal, ceramic or polyethylene. All these materials have been specially developed for medical purpose with good tissue tolerance and allow the function to be as painless and lasting as possible. |
| Having your knee replaced? |
Over the years your knee joint takes many stresses and strains during daily activities. When a disease process or injury to your knee occurs, the cartilage surfaces of the knee joint degenerate or wear out. During total knee replacement surgery, the diseased and / or arthritic ends of the bones are removed. A metal component is secured to the femur, and plastic components are attached to the tibia and patella. In this way, the smooth surfaces of the knee joint are restored, pain-free motion is again possible and it works as a normal knee joint.
For each implant type, there is a wide range of models manufactured in different sizes as the anatomy of the knee varies from one individual to another. The surgeon will prepare for the operation on your knee joint with a graphic plan compiled on the basis of X-rays and will thus determine the model, size and position of the implant parts. |
| What are artificial knee joints made up of? |
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Materials used for artificial joints are highly developed. They provide maximum tolerance and long-term acceptance by the human body, which is called bio-compatibility. For decades, Stryker has been a leader in material development and fundamental know-how in metallurgy, material, research and testing. In general, there are two different types of material
employed for orthopedic purposes Metals & Polymers (ultra high molecular weight polyeltylene) |
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| When is Total Knee Replacement required? |
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Persistent pain in the joint requiring regular pain killers, affecting activities of daily living & compromising your quality of life. |
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When other treatments like medicines, plysiotherapy etc have failed and no other alternative treatment is likely to help |
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X-ray confirming advanced arthritic changes in the joint. |
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