Knee Replacement Surgery

Knee replacement surgery is the treatment for end stage knee arthritis. You can determine if you have end stage arthritis from one of the following symptoms;

• Inability to walk inside the house even for routine activities like going to the kitchen or the loo.
• Inability to sleep at night due to pain
• You have a sensation of knee buckling under you when doing routine activities

Once you have any of the above symptoms, you can rest assured that no amount of tablets or physiotherapy can help you anymore. However, you will benefit immensely from a knee replacement surgery.

The other indication for surgery is when you are not able to pursue your hobbies or are not able to maintain an active lifestyle in spite of being fit otherwise. In this case, it becomes a lifestyle surgery – that is a procedure performed to improve one’s lifestyle.

The surgery becomes an emergency when the knee deformity is so much that you have a tendency to fall down – that may result in a fracture and a fracture is never good for anybody at any age!

What do we do during surgery?

Contrary to popular belief, we do not replace the entire knee- the degenerate cartilage is shaved off from the lower end of thigh bone and upper end of shin bone. A prosthesis is then cemented into place in the previously carved bone. A polyethylene spacer is implanted between the prosthesis to complete the procedure.

Is the Surgery painful?

You will not feel any pain during the surgery. You will have one of these two types of anesthesia:

• General anesthesia — This means you will be asleep and unable to feel pain.
• Regional (spinal or epidural) anesthesia — Medicine is put into your spine to make you numb below your waist.
• You will also get a cocktail of medications injected into the knee during the procedure to further alleviate pain and improve healing.

When will I walk after the surgery?

As soon as you wake up from the effects of anesthesia, you are good to walk! You will be assisted to stand and walk with support of a walker usually after 5-6 hours after the procedure.

When will I get discharged from hospital?

You will go home usually on the 3rd day after single knee replacement and on the 4th day after bilateral knee replacement surgery.

When will I be able to resume my daily chores after the surgery?

You will be able to walk without the aid of a walker after 1-2 weeks after surgery. Your physiotherapist will help you with knee strengthening and movement exercises so that you can become independent within 3-4 weeks.