Knee Conditions

Total knee replacement surgery is considered for patients whose knee joints have been damaged by progressive arthritis, trauma, or other rare destructive diseases of the joint. The most common reason for knee replacement is severe osteoarthritis of the knees and also cases with Rheumatoid arthritis.

Regardless of the cause of the damage to the joint, the resulting progressively increasing pain and stiffness and decreasing daily function lead the patient to consider total knee replacement.

Arthritis is not a symptom of “just getting old”. It is a degenerative or inflammatory disease of the joints that is not necessarily part of the normal ageing process. Indeed, some patients with arthritis present symptoms in their 20s and 30s.

Arthritis causes permanent deterioration of the cartilage layers that shield the joint from impact. Because cartilage cannot repair or replenish itself, it begins to crack, wear away and eventually disappear. The cushion your knee requires to absorb stress is gone, resulting in bone-on-bone contact. The bones in advanced cases may be so rough and pitted from grinding against each other that they form bone spurs, which often cause stiffness.

Although there are several types of arthritis, one of the most common is called osteoarthritis. It affects millions of people in the world today.

In the first stages of osteoarthritis (cause related to wear and tear of cartilage) the knee may feel stiff and swollen. Later, the person will feel pain and may notice that one leg seems shorter or more crooked than the other. Eventually, the mobility may become limited and the person may need to alter the lifestyle to accommodate the sore, arthritic knee. In case of overweight person or with mal-alignment, the extra stress on the knee can accelerate the damage.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. The joint inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis causes swelling, pain, stiffness, and redness in the joints. The inflammation also occurs in tissues around the joints, such as the tendons, ligaments, and muscles.

Autoimmune diseases are illnesses that occur when the body’s cells and tissues are mistakenly attacked by their own immune system.

While rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness, meaning it can last for years, patients may experience long periods without symptoms. However, rheumatoid arthritis is typically a progressive illness that has the potential to cause joint destruction and functional disability. In some people with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammation leads to the destruction of the cartilage, bone, and ligaments, causing deformity of the joints. Damage to the joints can occur early in the disease and be progressive.

Traumatic arthritis, arthritis due to injury, may cause damage to the cartilage of the knee.

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.