Knee Surgery

There are various types of knee surgery:

• Total knee replacement - Partial knee replacement or total knee replacement surgery - also known as total knee joint arthroplasty - is usually undertaken when knee problems associated with osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis have resulted in the wearing down of the knee joint.
• Knee arthroscopy - Arthroscopy is a procedure used by orthopaedic surgeons to diagnose and treat knee problems. The surgeon uses a small  instrument called an arthroscope gives a clear view of the inside of the knee, and only requires that a small incision is made in the knee. Modern or contemporary arthroscopy of the knee was first performed in the late 1960s. With improvements of arthroscopes and higher-resolution cameras, the procedure has become highly effective for both the accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of knee problems.
• Cruciate ligament reconstruction, ACL reconstruction - One of the most common knee problems that can occur, especially in sports men and women, is a tear of a cruciate ligament, most commonly the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the four knee ligaments that are crucial to the stability of the knee joint. The other major knee ligaments of the knee are the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the medial collateral (MCL) and lateral collateral ligaments (LCL).

Another procedure that's sometimes helpful in the early stages of arthritis is an osteotomy - cutting and realigning the bones so that some of your weight on the hips and knees is shifted on to good cartilage.

For people with inflammatory arthritis in one (or both) of their knees, occasionally a synovectomy - removal of the inflamed lining of the joint, often performed arthroscopically - can in some cases slow down the progress of the disease into adjoining tissues and postpone more radical surgery.

Synovectomy: the removal of the synovium or tissues lining the joints. This reduces pain and swelling of rheumatoid arthritis and prevents or slows down the destruction of joints. However, the synovium often grows back several years after surgery and the problem can happen again.

It's worth mentioning that in 60 per cent of patients with osteoarthritis, arthroscopic removal of cartilage fragments, torn menisci and osteophytes provides relief for up to five years.

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