Total Knee Replacement Surgery

1630 Words4 Pages

I. Introduction
Though there are many ways to elevate the symptoms that occur with arthritis of the knee, many do not restore the patient’s life to its normal state. This is why many patients chose to have a total knee replacement (TKR) surgery done. In the United States more than 400,000 primary knee and hip arthroplasties are performed each year, costing more the over $10 billion (bachmeier). Total knee replacement (TKR) is done to restore joint functionality and to relieve a patient from pain (jabber). However, some patients still have pain after surgery is done. There are many studies to examine whether or not a patient’s life can be fully restored after total knee replacement surgery.
II. History
As early as the 1890’s total knee replacements …show more content…

Total Knee Replacement surgery A knee replacement consists of two parts, the femoral component and the tibial tray. (jabber) Total knee replacement surgery is done by an orthopedic surgeon. The surgeon has to open the knee and move that patella to get a better view of the affected areas. After the patella has been moved the surgeon removes that cartilage on the femur that has been affected by the arthritis. The end of the femur is then cut so that the femoral component of the prosthesis will fit properly. After the affect area of the tibia is removed and the tibia is cut so that the tibial tray will fit properly.
During total knee replacement surgery the posterior cruciate ligament can be affected, changing the flexion and extension. This change can affect the joint compression in the knee as well as the anterior-posterior translation. (steinbruck) In the study, posterior cruciate ligament balancing in total knee arthroplasty: a numerical study with a dynamic force controlled knee model, they created a dynamic deformable finite element model of a full leg. The leg was built to analyze the stepwise release of the PCL regarding knee kinematics, pressure distribution and ligament stress. (steinbruck) The leg had six degrees of freedom and a virtually implanted knee prosthesis and was analyzed using a force controlled computer analysis. Three models were studied changing the stiffness of the posterior cruciate ligament for each one. The study concluded that if there was not …show more content…

In the study, Health-related quality of life after total knee or hip replacement for osteoarthritis: a 7-year prospective study, The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) was used to measure the quality of life of patients seven years after surgery. The study observed 49 patients, 17 of whom had total knee replacement surgery. The study looked at pain, stiffness and function from day one after to surgery to year 7. A p values greater than 0.05 was found to be significant. It was found from month 6 to year 7 that the scores in these 3 categories improved, with the best scored at year one for total knee replacement patients. This shows that there is still improvement after three months post-surgery for total knee replacement

More about Total Knee Replacement Surgery

Open Document