Knee Joint replacement
Total Knee Replacement (TKR) has evolved over many years and now most cases involve resurfacing of the ends of the bone after removal of a relatively section of bone, around 9mm from the end of the femur, the top of the tibia and the deep surface of the patella. These surfaces are then clad in metal components, these days often with a metal surface on the femoral component and with a plastic or high density polyethylene bearing between the tibia and the femur. The deep surface of the patella is generally also resurfaced with a polyethylene bearing.
TKR is quite a major procedure, normally undertaken under general anaesthesia. The operation surgery generally takes somewhere in the region of 2 hours from induction of anaesthesia to return to the recovery room. It normally requires a hospital stay of about 2-3 days depending on progress and takes up to 2-3 months for the muscles around the knee to recover fully and for patients to feel the real benefits of surgery.