The patient/caregiver was educated on essentials of knee joint replacement as follows:
- The knee joint is where the thigh bone (femur) and the leg bone (tibia) meet. A third bone, patella or kneecap, is located in front on the joint between femur and tibia.
- The ends of femur and tibia forming the knee joint are covered by articular cartilage and has a soft, smooth, and rubbery consistency. Also, there is a piece of articular cartilage behind the kneecap.
- The smooth and soft articular cartilage inside the knee joint helps with easy sliding of the bones against each other. Also, the articular cartilage helps as a shock absorber and helps to prevent any damage to the bones due to friction from chronic use.
- Knee joint replacement is usually performed in individuals with history of arthritis, such as, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gouty arthritis involving the knee. Also, knee joint could be replaced in individuals with severe damage to the joint due to accident & other physical injuries.
- Thus, wear and tear from excessive use, chronic inflammation and injury to the joint could all contribute to worn out articular cartilages. As the cartilage at the ends of bones is worn out, the bones start rubbing against each other, resulting in friction with worsening pain & swelling. This leads to further damage to the joint.
- Knee replacement is a surgery involving resurfacing of the ends of the bones forming the knee joint.
- The surgeon initially takes off portions of the damaged ends of bones forming the knee joint, femur and tibia. By using tools and computer navigation, the surgeon then aligns the knee joint properly in place before fixing it.
- The bone ends are then resurfaced using metal and plastic prosthetics. A piece of metal is fixed into the upper end of tibia and a small piece of plastic is fixed on top of it. Then another piece of metal is fixed into the lower end of femur. A piece of plastic is also fixed behind the patella or kneecap and in front on the joint between femur and tibia.
- Now, the metal fixed on the end of femur bone rubs smoothly on the plastic fixed on the end of the tibia.
- Once the joint is aligned and the metal & plastic prosthetics are fixed, they are held in place using a substance called bone cement. Bone cement helps adherence of prosthetic to the natural bone in the human body.
