Total Knee Replacement & Groundbreaking Technology
Kirk E. Maes, MD
Anthony W. Ware, MD
Steward Orthopedic and Sports Medicine
What is total knee replacement?
Total knee placement, or knee arthroplasty, is surgery for people with severe knee damage and is typically performed to resurface a knee damaged by arthritis. During surgery, the surgeon removes damaged cartilage and bone from the surface of the knee joint and replaces it with a man-made surface of metal and plastic. A person who has severe arthritis or a severe knee injury, may be a candidate for total knee replacement.
What are conditions that may lead up to a total knee replacement?
Besides an injury that could result in this surgery, arthritis is one of the leading factors for total joint replacement. Osteoarthritis can cause the breakdown of joint cartilage and adjacent bone in the knees. Rheumatoid arthritis, which causes inflammation of the synovial membrane and results in excessive synovial fluid, leading to pain and stiffness. Traumatic arthritis, arthritis due to injury, can cause damage to the cartilage of the knee.
What is the goal of knee replacement surgery?
The goal of knee replacement surgery is to resurface the parts of the knee joint that have been damaged and to relieve knee pain that cannot be controlled by other treatments, and get a patient back to living a healthy and active life, while reducing or eliminating pain.
What are some of the latest techniques used in the surgical process of total joint replacement?
There are many new techniques and technologies that assist surgeons in getting their patients back to living an active lifestyle. At Sebastian River Medical Center, orthopedic surgeons are using Exactech GPS® and the Conformis Knee Replacement System. Accurate alignment and positioning of the knee replacement is critical to improving surgical outcomes. During surgery, Exatech GPS® provides real-time visual guidance and alignment data. It is very similar to the navigation system in your car, giving surgeons a visual anatomy of the patient’s knee in real-time. This allows surgeons to make personalized, immediate adjustments during the placement of the implant, and precisely position the joint replacement.
The goal of knee replacement surgery is to restore the knee, as close as possible, to the natural alignment and original pre-arthritis anatomy. The Conformis joint replacement offers custom made, personalized knee replacement instrumentation and personalized custom knee replacement implants, both of which are designed to fit perfectly for each individual patient. Depending on the patient’s severity of arthritis, these personalized custom designed implants offer a unique alternative to traditional joint replacement implants. This unique technology can offer patients the best possible implants to fit their specific needs.
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