| CHRIS SERVANT |
| KNEE REPLACEMENT |
What are the benefits of having a knee replacement? |
- Less pain. The main aim is to relieve the pain of arthritis.
- Improved mobility. You should be able to walk more easily and so become more active.
A knee replacement is a very successful operation – about 95% of patients (19 out of 20) are pleased with their new knee.
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What are the risks of having a knee replacement? |
| While the results of knee replacement surgery are very good, there are some risks. No surgery is
perfect and with any operation there some patients who either do not improve or end up being worse. |
| There are quite a few possible risks or ‘complications’ of knee replacement surgery, which are listed below.
However, each complication is relatively uncommon and overall the chance of a complication is less than 5% (1 patient in 20).
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Medical problems |
| The chance of developing an illness, such as a heart attack, a chest infection or a stroke, is
increased by having major surgery. A knee replacement is a major operation but modern anaesthetic techniques and
medical treatments have resulted in the operation becoming safer and safer. |
| The risk of a significant medical problem depends largely on the fitness and health of the
patient before the operation.
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Difficulty passing urine |
| Passing urine can be a temporary problem after a knee replacement. This may be due to discomfort from the surgery,
the after-effects of the anaesthetic, a side-effect of painkillers, or simply from lying flat in bed. In men,
pre-existing prostate problems may also be a factor. A catheter (urine tube) may be needed for a day or two.
Some patients at high risk may have a catheter inserted in theatre after the anaesthetic has been given. |
Infection |
| Knee replacement surgery is carried out under strict sterile conditions in an operating theatre with
special clean air ventilation. You will also be given a strong antibiotic at the beginning of the operation.
Despite this, infection is still a potential problem. |
Infections can be separated into superficial and deep infections:
- Superficial – skin wound only, usually settles with antibiotics
- Deep – involves the artificial joint
Deep infections occur in about 1% (1 in 100) or less of all knee replacements. A deep infection usually needs
further surgery to clean out the infection and often the artificial joint needs to be removed to clear all the
infection. A new replacement may be inserted after a few weeks of antibiotic treatment but the end result is
generally not as good as if there are not been an infection.
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Poor wound healing |
| Normally the wound is stitched with an absorbable stitch and the wound heals without any
problem. Occasionally there may be problems with delayed wound healing. This is more likely in patients with conditions
such as diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, patients who have been taking steroids, patients who are overweight or
patients who already have scars around the knee. |
| Delayed wound healing increases the risk of wound infection.
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