KNEE & HIP Replacement Center

Surgical Procedures

When pain management and lifestyle changes are not enough to keep knee pain from interfering with your life and your lifestyle, a surgical procedure may be a good option.

Arthroscopy allows your doctor to see any damage to your knee, remove loose bodies, or repair soft tissue tears
Partial or total knee replacement involves resurfacing the damaged knee and replacing it with an artificial implant made of highly polished metal and special plastics. This device is a substitute for, or a supplement to the natural joint, allowing for smooth movement.

Women have special needs because their knees are different in shape and size from men's knees. A new knee replacement is now available that is shaped to fit a woman's anatomy

Millions of Americans have had traditional knee replacement surgery, enabling them—after weeks or months of recovery—to once again walk with minimal or no pain.

But the news has gotten even better. Recent advances in surgical procedures have allowed knee replacement to be less and less invasive. Surgeons make smaller incisions—as little as ½ the size of those in traditional surgery. Smaller scar? Sure. But the big news is that these Zimmer Minimally Invasive Solutions (MIS) are allowing most patients to recover much sooner.

Minimally invasive procedures generally involve avoiding or separating muscles, ligaments and tendons to access the knee joint, rather than cutting through them as is done in traditional knee replacement surgery. It is mainly the healing of these cut muscles and tendons that can make recovery from traditional surgery so long and painful.

These "minimally invasive procedures" can help patients experience:

less postoperative pain
a shorter hospital stay—as little as 1 or 2 days
a faster recovery period
quicker return to work and daily activities

Arthroscopic Surgery

The simplest surgical procedure used is called arthroscopy. This procedure removes loose bone and cartilage and repairs damaged tendons and ligaments. It can also be used to confirm that your knee joint is injured or diseased. Arthroscopy is one of the most common orthopedic procedures done in the United States: more than 1.5 million are performed each year.

Arthroscopy takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to perform. It is typically done on an outpatient basis. Depending on how long the arthroscopy will last, you will receive one of three types of anesthesia medicine:

local, which numbs only your knee
regional, which numbs below your waist
general, in which you sleep throughout the procedure

Once the anesthesia takes effect, the surgeon will make a few small incisions in your knee; he will use one of these incisions to insert a surgical tool called an arthroscope: a small, soft tube with a light and a camera on the tip. The camera projects images of the inside of your knee onto a television screen, guiding the doctor as he maneuvers the instrument. If a problem is detected, the doctor can perform immediate surgery by placing small instruments through the other incisions. After he removes the arthroscope, the surgeon will close the hole with sutures (stitches) and put a bandage on the incision.

Partial or Total Knee Replacement

Minimally invasive surgeries are the latest development in joint replacement techniques. Less invasive surgery has let people recover more quickly and get back to their lives sooner. For both partial and total replacements, smaller incisions and less cutting of muscles, ligaments and tendons can make a big difference for many people.

Partial knee replacement is an option for patients who do not require total knee replacement because some of the joint surfaces are still healthy. In partial knee replacement surgery, the surgeon removes only the diseased portion of the knee before placing the implant, leaving the healthy portion untouched. Because the surfaces are replaced on only one side of the joint, these replacements are call unicompartmental knees, or "Uni" knees.
In total knee replacement surgery, also known as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), the damaged surfaces of all three bones are resurfaced with metal and plastic implants.

Minimally Invasive Surgery for Partial Knee Replacement

The minimally invasive procedure for partial knee replacement—also called the Uni Knee procedure—has been developed to provide patients with a minimally invasive solution for osteoarthritis of the knee. It allows many people to experience a shorter hospital stay (24 hours or fewer) and a faster recovery than traditional methods. Patients may also experience an increased range of motion after recovery.

Using specialized instruments, surgeons are able to perform this minimally invasive procedure through a small 2- to 3-inch incision, as opposed to the 8- to 12-inch incision normally required for traditional open knee surgery. The result is not only a smaller scar, but also the possibility of a faster, less painful recovery.

The surgeon removes only the diseased portion of the knee, leaves the healthy part of the knee untouched, and implants the prosthesis. In addition to the procedure, the Uni Knee design conserves the surfaces of the patient's bone, which aids in future total knee replacement surgery, if necessary. The procedure itself may take more time than a traditional surgery. However, a successful Uni Knee replacement may delay, and in some cases, prevent a more extensive knee replacement surgery later.

Benefits of the Minimally Invasive Procedure for Partial Knee Replacement

Smaller scar—uses a 2- to 3-inch incision and removes only the diseased portion of the knee.
Shorter hospital stay—may be performed on an outpatient basis; hospitalization time is minimized.
Faster recovery time.
Greater range of motion when compared to standard total knee procedures.

Minimally Invasive Surgery for Total Knee Replacement

In traditional total knee replacement surgery, the surgeon makes up to a 12-inch incision down the front of the knee and the tendon and quadriceps muscle-which control the bending of the knee-are cut.

Using modified techniques and instruments, surgeons can now place the same, clinically proven implants used in traditional surgery, but through smaller incisions and, for some patients, without cutting through key tendons and muscles.

These advanced procedures may take a little longer to perform than traditional techniques. (For example, it may take a surgeon longer to reposition tendons and muscles instead of cutting them.) However there are many benefits after surgery-when you are trying to get back to the important things in your life.

For those people who need total knee replacement, also known as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), 2 Minimally Invasive Solutions (MIS) Procedures are available: