What is a Knee Prosthesis?
Knee prosthesis is the removal of the worn parts of the cartilage and some of the bone underneath, providing the normal axis of the knee joint and placing various metals into the joint.
The aim of knee replacement surgery is to provide the patient with a pain-free, mobile joint and a higher standard of daily living. Knee prosthesis is the treatment method of knee calcification which develops from the advanced deterioration of the cartilage in the knee joint.
The knee prosthesis mimics the functions of the knee, the main part of the prosthesis is titanium or the metal alloy cobalt-chrome, and the separator is polyethylene, one of the reinforced plastics. With today’s technological developments, there have been developments in the design and the materials used, and the processing has become more successful.
Who Is Knee Prosthesis Applied?
Total knee prosthesis is applied to patients who have pain and deformity in their knees, whose knee pain does not go away despite rest, medication and physical therapy methods, whose daily living activities such as walking and climbing stairs are severely restricted, and who have severe damage to the articular cartilage on radiography.
Before deciding on surgery, methods such as drug therapy, injection and physical therapy exercises should be tried.
Knee Prosthesis is performed in cases such as pain when climbing stairs or when walking more than 300 meters, severe damage to the joint area as a result of radiography, and advanced and progressive calcification.
What are the Causes of Knee Joint Deterioration?
- Knee problems caused by genetic reasons.
- Obesity and overweight.
- Rheumatic diseases.
- Received physical injuries or frequently recurrent minor trauma.
What are the Treatment Stages?
- First of all, the patient to whom knee prosthesis will be applied must have applied non-prosthetic treatment options and must be at a stage where they will not benefit.
- Knee damage is easily seen on X-rays.
- After the operation decision, anesthesia preparation is made.
- Before the operation, the presence of dental caries, wounds or any infection focus in the body should be carefully investigated, and it is very important to treat it if it does.
- The operation can be performed as local anesthesia or general anesthesia.
What is the Life of the Prosthesis?
If the operation is performed by an experienced surgeon with advanced technology materials, the life of the prosthesis is approximately 20 years.
When the prosthesis expires, it starts to cause pain and the complaints progress over time. This may be due to loosening of the prosthesis and wear of the plastic-like material in between.
A secondary replacement surgery may be required for loose and worn prostheses for various reasons.
