Knee prostheses - latest trends
Individual surgical planning combined with the latest surgical techniques ensures improved stability of the knee prosthesis - and makes sports possible even at an advanced age.
Dr. med. Matthias Schmied
Every joint in the human body is subject to constant wear and tear. The causes are very diverse and cannot always be influenced. Knee joint arthrosis leads or to disabling pain. Everyday life is restricted and the quality of life suffers greatly.
If non-surgical measures are exhausted, the implantation of an artificial joint is the only way out. The development of knee prostheses is progressing steadily and the quality of the fitting is increasing rapidly. Today's artificial joints have an average service life of 15 to 20 years.
Bow legs, knock knees and straight legs: no two knees are alike, but are individual and require correspondingly specific treatment. For this reason, precise planning of the operation is the prerequisite for a successful result.
In order to improve the stability of the operated knee and thus the result, patient-specific prosthesis planning is combined with new surgical techniques. In a first step, the knee can be reconstructed three-dimensionally using computer tomography. These true-to-scale models serve as a template for patient-specific planning of the knee prosthesis. The operation can then take place shortly afterwards.
It lasts an average of 60 minutes. During the procedure, the new technique can improve stability so that the knee is optimally balanced and therefore stable. This step is enormously important for a well-functioning artificial joint, because about a quarter of problematic knee replacements are due to insufficient stability. Aftercare is of great importance: the faster the muscles and mobility are rebuilt, the sooner the patient can get back to everyday life and enjoy it. Sporting activities can also be carried out again afterwards.
Source: Sunday Newspaper 2017