All about chronic low back pain
Written By :
Dr. Ankur Saurav
Sr.Orthopedic Surgeon
Fellowship in Joint Replacement (Germany), Fellowship in Sports Medicine (ISAKOS)
Introduction
Now world is moving fast in Joint Replacement and specially Knee Replacement. From no Replacement to Total Knee Replacement with lots of restrictions to High mobility Knee Replacement with long durable knees. Now we are thinking of preserving ones knee natural structures, with minimally invasive surgery and providing pain relief at the same time with shorter Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy. Partial or Uni knee Replacement is a strong step towards it.
What is Partial Knee Replacement?
Partial knee replacement is a type of knee replacement where we only change the diseased part of knee and rest of the knee is left untouched and also the four main ligaments which supports the knee is left intact(where as in total knee replacement two out of four ligament is removed while surgery). Uni/Partial knee replacement has one major limitation that it can’t be done in patients having more than one half of the knee damaged due to arthritis.
When to go for Partial knee replacement
Our knee is made up of 3 compartments,usually arthritis(damage of the cartilage) starts in single compartment which gradually spreads to other compartments with time. Partial or Uni knee replacement is a surgery done in patients having single compartment disease of the knee. In partial knee replacement we resurface the affected compartment with metallic implant thus curing the pain of the patient.
Advantage of Partial knee replacement
- It is a minimally invasive surgery, thus patient have a very speedy recovery.
- This surgery is unique as in this surgery all four important ligament of the knee is preserved which provide natural stability to the knee. Thus patient had a very natural feel in the knees after this surgery.
- Patient can avoid much bigger surgery such as total knee replacement if this is done in time.
- Range of movement of knee is excellent and level of activity is good after this surgery compared to total knee replacement.
- Revision to total knee if required is much easier in this compared to other corrective osteotomies. called a prosthesis.
Indications
- Early arthritis.
- Lesser deformity around knee
- Good Range of motion
- Intact ligaments of knee
- Correctable deformity
The ideal candidate for Partial Knee Replacement Surgery
- Only single compartment of knee affected i.e medial compartment or lateral compartment
- Non inflammatory arthritis
- All the conservative management has failed to provide significant pain relief.
- Young age individuals with knee arthritis who need to be more active in day to day life.
- Old aged patient who are having bothering pain with difficulty in day to day activities and is not relieved by conservative treatment. It is worth not waiting for entire joint to get damaged and partial knee replacement done at this age group will salvage the natural ligament and will also preserve most of your natural bone. Most of the patient will not require total knee replacement in their lifetime after this surgery as it will slow down the wear and tear of your knee joint and will also relieve you from pain.