Whether to have total knee replacement surgery should be a cooperative decision made by you, and your orthopedic surgeon in the States. Your primary physician may refer you to an orthopedic surgeon for a thorough evaluation to determine if you could benefit from this surgery.
Reasons that you may benefit from total knee replacement commonly include:
*Severe knee pain that limits your everyday activities, including walking, climbing stairs, and getting in and out of chairs. You may find it hard to walk more than a few blocks without significant pain and you may need to use a cane or walker. *Moderate or severe knee pain while resting, either day or night *Chronic knee inflammation and swelling that does not improve with rest or medications *Knee deformity: a bowing in or out of your knee *Knee stiffness: inability to bend and straighten your knee *Failure to obtain pain relief from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These medications, including aspirin and ibuprofen, often are most effective in the early stages of arthritis. Their effectiveness in controlling knee pain varies greatly from person to person. These drugs may become less effective for patients with severe arthritis. *Inability to tolerate or complications from pain medications *Failure to substantially improve with other treatments such as cortisone injections, physical therapy, or other surgeries
Most patients who undergo total knee replacement are age 60 to 80, but orthopedic surgeons evaluate patients individually. Recommendations for surgery are based on a patient's pain and disability, not age. Our surgeons successfully perform knee replacements in patients of all ages, from the young teenager with juvenile arthritis to the elderly patient with degenerative arthritis.
More than 95% of individuals who undergo total knee replacement at one of our clinics experience a dramatic reduction of knee pain and a significant improvement in the ability to perform common activities of daily living in a very short time.
Following surgery, you will be advised to avoid some types of activity, including jogging and high-impact sports, for the rest of your life.
With normal use and activity, every knee replacement develops some wear in its plastic cushion. Excessive activity or weight may accelerate this normal wear and cause the knee replacement to loosen and become painful. With appropriate activity modification, knee replacements can last for many years.
Knee arthroscopy
Our orthopedic surgeons have been performing this procedure for years with great success and are among best European surgeons known for their expertise and experience.
The advantage of arthroscopy over traditional open knee surgery is that the joint does not have to be opened up fully. Instead, only two small incisions are made - one for the arthroscope and one for the surgical instruments. This reduces the recovery time of the patient and may increase the rate of surgical success due to less trauma to the connective tissue. There is also less scarring, because of the smaller incisions.
After a consultation your surgeon in Poland will be able to tell you if you would benefit from knee arthroscopy as opposed to full surgery.
