By Richard P. Driessnack, MD
If you have knee pain and stiffness due to arthritis and have tried all other non-surgical treatments but still can’t function without pain, then it may be time to consider surgery. When I counsel patients regarding surgery, I review the benefits as well as the risks. One should expect less pain, less stiffness, improved function, and improved quality of life. A good knee replacement should last for 30 years. Your overall health is very important, and certain conditions may make you a poor candidate for surgery or require extensive medical “tune-up” prior to surgery.
The operation can be done as either an in-patient or an out-patient procedure. Improvements in anesthesia and pain management have facilitated this, but you must be committed and motivated to participate in the recovery program. That includes therapy and exercise. Remember, not all people are alike in their recovery.
There are complete or total knee replacements and there can also be partial knee replacements. The operation is essentially a resurfacing of the arthritic joint, very much like re-treading a tire when it has gone completely bald. Surgery takes about an hour to complete, and getting up and walking on the day of surgery is encouraged. Your hospital stay is usually one to two days, but occasionally longer if you need it. Reliable family support at home is critical for the best outcomes, but sometimes a short stay in a local nursing home is needed if someone lives alone.
My personal experience over 30 years is that most people will be satisfied with their choice to have surgery, and many return following recovery and tell me that they wished they had not waited so long to have surgery.
In 2015, I started to utilize a fully custom prosthesis in select cases and have gradually been performing more and more of these. This prosthesis is designed from a detailed CT scan of your own knee, and allows for the precise replication of the size and shape of your knee bones. Allowances for areas of bone deficiency are made so that the original boney anatomy can be recreated. Therefore, this knee replacement may “feel” better to some patients and decrease the percentage of patients who do not achieve complete pain relief after a total knee replacement surgery. This prosthesis is unique and offered by no other company in the U.S. Along with the prosthesis being custom, I receive 3D-printed cutting blocks and jigs that fit precisely on the ends of the bones which guide me in making the correct bone cuts, without having to place any rods up the femur bone, thus decreasing blood loss and swelling. I have found the recovery to be faster, and patient satisfaction has been very good.
If you think that you might be a candidate for this knee replacement, schedule an appointment with me for a consultation to evaluate and discuss your situation.
For more information, contact OSF Orthopedics at 309-676-5546 or on the web at www.PeoriaJointReplacement.com. They have two locations: OSF Orthopedics — Downtown Peoria, 303 North William Kumpf Boulevard, Peoria; and OSF Orthopedics — North Peoria, 7800 N. Sommer St., Peoria.