A Guide to Knee Replacement Surgery

Marie Savard explains the latest developments in knee replacement surgery.

ByABC News via logo
February 1, 2009, 4:30 PM

Feb. 2, 2009 — -- The science behind knee replacement surgeries has become more advanced. The procedure itself is on the rise, with about 600,000 procedures performed annually.

"Good Morning America" medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard explains the latest developments in knee replacement surgeries below.

Click to learn more about knee replacement procedures.

Using a patient's own cells to re-grow damaged tissue works for patients who've had injuries playing sports or an accident, rather than the natural deterioration that comes with age.

This procedure is done when the cartilage that cushions the joints in the knee is damaged. This experimental procedure takes a piece of the remaining healthy cartilage out of the knee and literally grows new tissue outside the body. Then the healthy tissue is re-inserted.

Someone with this knee damage would be looking at a partial or total knee replacement, which we're always looking to avoid. That's the upside. The downside is that the procedure is costly and has a long recovery time: the patient can't bear weight on the knee for 6-8 weeks, and could take up to a year to fully recover. In time, however, costs will go down and the technology may improve so that the recovery time will be decreased.

Over the last ten years, the number of partial knee replacements has increased nearly 33 percent.

The partial knee replacement is minimally invasive and involves less bone and soft tissue involvement, which means there is less blood loss during surgery and fewer incidents of complications. It also means considerably less pain and a much quicker recovery period for the patient.

But there is a catch. A partial knee replacement requires some very delicate surgery.

In a partial knee replacement, damaged bone is removed, basically smoothed away. It's critical that the alignment is done just right. Smoothing away too much bone or too little negatively affects the fit and can cause serious problems for the patient.